Most Teens Identify with Faiths, But Know Little

The National of Study of Youth and Religion revealed that the majority of American teens believe in God and worship in conventional congregations, but their knowledge on religion is considerably low.

The survey, which was a four-year effort conducted by 133 researchers and consultants led by sociologist Christian Smith of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, concluded that "religion really does matter" to youths.

At least 80 percent of teens say they are Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon or Jewish with most following their parents' faith tradition.

Survey results showed that 82 percent of teens said they were affiliated with a local congregation, 80 percent said they had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year, 71 percent said they felt close to God to some extent, 65 percent said they prayed alone a few or more times a week, 61 percent said they definitely believed in divine miracles from God, and 52 percent said they attended worship two to three times a month or more often.

Those more active in practicing their faith were Mormon youths, evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, mainline Protestants, Catholics and Jews, in that order.

While these findings were made through telephone surveys, face-to-face interviews revealed another story. The interviews showed that many teens have meager religious knowledge and have difficulty expressing their beliefs or what difference faith makes. Many were also detached from the traditions of their faith.

The complete results can be found in "Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers," a book that will be published next week.

Although the study was conducted on teens, Smith says "it speaks more broadly about the direction of American religion."