Attitudes and Behaviors of American Youth - Religion

Religion plays an important and positive role in the lives of many American teens, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion, a research project being conducted at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This four-year project, which used data from the 1996 Monitoring the Future Survey, began in August 2001 and continues until August 2005. The first report based on the project (Religion and the Life Attitudes and Self-Images of American Adolescents, December 2002) found that 31% of twelfth graders surveyed attended religious services weekly and 30% said religion was important to them. Teenagers who attended worship services and rated religion as important tended to have positive self-images, to be optimistic, and to enjoy school. According to "Adolescents' Transition to First Intercourse, Religiosity, and Attitudes about Sex," strong religious views appear to help adolescents avoid some risky behaviors (Social Forces, March 2003). Researchers found that female adolescents with a strong religious faith were less likely to become sexually active than other girls.

A 2004 publication from the National Study of Youth and Religion reported that 28% of teens thought religion should exert as much influence as it currently does on American society, and a full 41% thought religion should exert more influence (Are American Youth Alienated from Organized Religion?). Nearly 85% of respondents in the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health reported that they belonged to a religious group; most of these teenagers had a positive relationship with religious institutions.