The findings of a fascinating new survey of 18-to-38-year-olds who were churched while growing up were released today. The Gen2 Survey is an in-depth nationwide survey of largely members of the Millennial generation.
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine these adults who were churched growing up and to understand the key influences which either encouraged
or deterred them from believing and practicing the faith of their parents. Being churched was generally construed as having to do with Christianity, or the Christian faith.
Methods
The Gen2 Survey (Generation 2, Generation two, second generation) was hosted online, and was open to any person aged 18-38. The survey was advertised as an opportunity for participants to describe how they felt about their upbringing. Participation in the Gen2
Survey was designed to be attractive to all Millennials, regardless of their particular background traits and how they were raised by their parents. Despite the large proportion of those who had been home educated growing up, special effort was also made to target and engage anyone, including those who attended Christian schools, public schools, and private secular schools for their elementary and secondary school years.
Dr. Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, is the principal investigator for the research project. The study’s data were collected during 2013-2014. The total sample size is 9,369 subjects. As part of this, a nationwide representative sub-sample of 907 subjects was purchased from a national, independent, third-party business and used as a
comparative baseline to enhance the integrity and validity of the study.
Findings
Myriad findings are emerging from the study. Initial findings, being presented at a conference on January 30 and 31, 2015 in Kentucky, reveal some key patterns. For example, the frequency of church attendance while growing up, the quality of a teenager’s relationship with both of his/her father and mother, and the number of years homeschooled are consistently positively related with (the dependent variables of) the adult study
participants’ Christian orthodoxy, general Christian beliefs, biblical behaviors, satisfaction in life, and civic and community involvement, and the similarity between the participants’ beliefs and those of their father and mother.
The number of years participants were in Christian schools had mixed – positive,
neutral, and negative – correlations with the dependent variables mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Finally, the number of years spent in private secular schools and public schools, by these adults who were churched while growing up, were consistently negatively correlated with the dependent variables listed in the preceding paragraph.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study focuses on the church life of minors, family relationships growing up, denominational affiliations of the family, cultural and societal
influences in children’s lives, type of schooling/education children received (whether public schooling/state schooling, private secular schooling, private Christian schooling, or homeschooling) and the associations of these variables with Christian beliefs, behaviors, and practices in adulthood.
--Brian D. Ray, Ph.D.
National Home Education Research Institute
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Endnotes:
[1] Every person, whether a researcher, journalist, academic, policymaker, judge, carpenter, or nurse, has a worldview or weltanschauung. Examples of worldviews are atheism, Buddhism, Christianity/scripturalism, communitarianism, critical theory, Islam, metaphysical naturalism, Mormonism, queer theory, Roman Catholicism, scientism, socialism, and
statism. 