Many American teens have strong religious beliefs and congregational affiliation but lack religious knowledge and struggle to articulate their beliefs, according to a recent study.
A team of 133 researchers based at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill surveyed 3,370 randomly selected teens about religious knowledge and personal beliefs in the National Study of Youth and Religion, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion Web site, www.youthandreligion.org.
Findings from the four-year project were published in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, a book written by the project's principal investigator, Dr. Christian Smith and project manager, Dr. Melinda Lundquist Denton.
In the report, which marks the group's first major publication regarding the study, Smith and Lundquist explain that religion is widely practiced and valued by teens, but is also very misunderstood by them, according to the Web site.
While the study points to widespread national trends, similar conclusions can be found in Athens.
Ryan Ventura, adviser of Young Life of Athens County, a local teen ministry program, agrees with the study.
Students often have strong beliefs
but they can't always explain why they believe what they do Ventura said.
Lynn Miller, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, 69 Mill St., and adviser for the congregation's Lutheran Campus Ministry, concurred with the study.
There's a lot of accuracy in that report Miller said. [It] has set the tone for what we're going to do in April as far as how do we articulate our faith.
She hopes to engage the ministry's teenagers in critical conversation analyzing what they believe and why.
They need to be able to articulate what they do and what they don't believe in
she said.
Campus Crusade for Christ, a ministry group that hosts small group bible studies, also attempts to engage its members in spiritual conversation. While the group deals almost exclusively with college students and faculty, some of its members said the study's findings about teens can be applied to college students and faculty.
Phil Johnson, an Ohio University sophomore and member of Campus Crusade, explained that students can often articulate a basic understanding of their faith but struggle when discussing the more particular aspects.
It does seem like a lot of them hadn't put a lot of thought into it. They're kind of surprised when you ask them specifically
'What do you believe?' he said.
That doesn't mean they don't have strong beliefs. Members often just need to be led a little when discussing how they truly feel, said Scott Rutan, another member of Campus Crusade.
While the report stressed overall knowledge and articulation, Miller proposed that spirituality can also be expressed through actions.
They focused on the spoken word with regards to articulating faith
she said. I think that sometimes teens pay more attention to how faith is lived out.
C.C. Ruchti, a student at Athens High School, agreed.
I think that my actions are all part of my spiritual life. I'm doing things and adding to the world and that's spiritual
she said.
The report suggested a number of reasons for shallow religious knowledge and inability to articulate beliefs.
Teenagers often form their own personal ideologies about faith that don't require specific religious doctrine.
Ruchti admitted that she lacked extensive knowledge about her own denomination. However, that doesn't stop her from fostering strong religious beliefs.
I feel like I interpret things differently from other people in my denomination. I kind of take things to fit me
she said.
Teenagers in Young Life also modify religion to fit their personal lives.
They tend to develop their own ideologies and adapt religious beliefs to their own lives
Ventura said.
In addition to this system of adaptation, teenagers' hectic schedules take away from time that otherwise could be spent examining and learning about religion. Miller, Rutan and Ruchti all pointed to that issue in response to the study's discussion of shallow religious knowledge.
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