As a child, I have fond memories of Sunday mornings spent in church with my father, followed by a trip to the only Tim Horton’s open in South Florida for donuts. Little did I know then that these memories would play a significant role in shaping my adult Christian faith. According to a recent study by Communio, the decline of resident fatherhood in homes over the past 60 years may be the primary reason for the collapse of Christianity in the United States. The study, conducted through a nationwide survey of 19,000 Sunday church attendees in 112 evangelical, Protestant, and Catholic congregations across 13 states, found that religious non-affiliation is unlikely to stabilize until 25-30 years after married fatherhood stabilizes. Therefore, evangelists looking to revive Christian faith must focus on fostering healthy, Christ-centered marriages.
The survey found that 80% of all Sunday church attendees in the United States grew up in a continuously married home with both biological parents, which held true across all age groups. This is significant because the growth in religious non-affiliation began sometime between 1986-1991, about 25-30 years after the start of the sexual revolution. This period also saw explosive growth in non-marital births and divorce rates, leading to fewer children with fathers in their homes. This lack of a father figure was found to have a significant impact on a child’s likelihood of practicing faith later in life.
Researchers have found that a child’s relationship with their father is critical for faith practice. A 40-year, longitudinal study published by Oxford University Press found that closeness to fathers matters more than closeness to mothers in religious transmission. Even among Evangelical fathers, there was a 25-point difference in professed faith similarity for emotionally close children and those who were not close. This is why adults who grew up in continuously married homes make up the vast majority of Sunday church attendance.
While not all adults who stop attending church do so because of a failure in their parents’ marriage or relationship with their father, Christian leaders must recognize the importance of a healthy, faithful marriage as a vital environment for transmitting faith. The Parable of the Sower in the Gospel of Matthew reminds us that some seeds fall on good soil and bring forth grain, and in the 21st century, adults who grew up with married parents appear to be the healthy soil for the seeds of faith to flourish.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
