Research finds parents play decisive role in children’s religious future

Parental practice is the strongest predictor of whether children remain Christian as adults, a study found.

The study, “Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations,” released in June by the Institute for Family Studies and Communio, examined data from four national studies involving tens of thousands of Americans raised in Christian households.

Researchers sought to identify which behaviors most strongly influence whether children retain their faith into adulthood. The study found that the family home is the single-most critical factor in determining whether faith is successfully passed on from one generation to the next.

The power of parental example

According to the report, children whose parents regularly attended church, prayed consistently in front of them, spoke openly about their faith, and fostered strong family relationships were significantly more likely to remain active Christians as adults. The results showed that adults whose parents attended church weekly were more than twice as likely to attend church regularly themselves decades later (26% versus 12%). The effect was even stronger when both parents participated in religious life together.

The study also highlighted the importance of simple spiritual practices within family life. Saying grace before meals, evening or morning prayers together, and having frequent conversations about faith all corresponded with higher levels of religious belief and practice in adulthood. Children raised in homes where religion was discussed several times a week were substantially more likely to identify as Christian, pray daily, and consider faith an important part of their lives as they went through adulthood.

The domestic church

For Catholics, the findings reflect what the Church has always taught regarding the role of parents as the primary educators of their children in the faith. The Church has often referred to the family as the “domestic church,” emphasizing that parents are called not only to teach religious truths but also to model a life of discipleship through daily prayer, sacramental participation, and Christian witness.

The study further found that the quality of family relationships had a tremendous impact on children as well. Adults who reported having strong and loving relationships with both parents were more likely to remain religious than those who experienced distant or conflict-ridden family environments. About 41%of children who attend church weekly with both parents go on to attend church weekly as an adult, the study said. This percentage drops to 29% if children attend with only one parent. In particular, researchers noted the significant role fathers play in shaping the spiritual lives of their children.

Marriage stability also emerged as an important factor. Children raised in homes characterized by strong and happy marriages showed higher rates of adult religious practice. When their lived experience corresponds with what they learned in Sunday school and the Bible, they are more likely to accept those truths in adulthood. Also, compared with non-married individuals, married individuals have significantly more faith conversations with their children, suggesting more frequent and intentional engagement within the home.

While cultural forces may be difficult to control, many of the factors most closely associated with transmitting faith remain within the reach of families themselves, the study showed.

“In a culture where religion is no longer reinforced by broader society,” the study’s authors, Jesse Smith and Jane Lankes Smith, wrote, “parents cannot assume faith will simply rub off on their children.” Instead, faith is most effectively passed on when it is lived openly, discussed regularly, and woven into the ordinary rhythms of family life.

“Parents cannot assume their children will carry on the faith they were raised with. Passing on faith requires intentional effort from both mothers and fathers. Parents serve as their childrenʼs most influential teachers, role models, and guides in matters of faith. What they do will make a difference long after their children grow up and leave home,” Jesse Smith said in an email.

“For churches, that means youth programming alone is not enough. Congregations should invest not only in children but also in parents, equipping them to fulfill their central role in shaping the next generationʼs religious lives,” Smith said.

The study draws on four longitudinal datasets: the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), Communio’s 2024-25 congregational survey, Add Health, and the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), using descriptive statistics and logistic regression with demographic controls. Analyses using GFS, Add Health, and NSYR are weighted. Everything reported in the study is a statistically significant finding based on 95% confidence intervals, Smith said.