A majority of American teens still follow their parents’ lead when it comes to religion. The trend holds whether families are religious or not—but it’s especially good news for evangelical Protestants, who care the most about their children sharing their beliefs.
Evangelical teens, like their parents, stand out as the most confident and active in their faith when compared to their peers, according to a new Pew Research Center report on the religious practices of 13-to-17-year-olds.
The religious makeup of today’s teens mostly resembles the population overall. About a third are “nones” (identifying as nothing in particular, atheist, or agnostic), the largest category. After that, about a quarter identify as Catholic and 21 percent as evangelical.
Even as teens, over half of evangelicals surveyed say they attend church at least weekly, pray at least daily, and belong to a youth group.
And It’s not just parental pressure. In the survey, two-thirds of evangelical teens say they attend church because they want to go, not to appease Mom and Dad.
Family plays a big part in young evangelicals’ devotional lives. The vast majority say they enjoy religious activities with their families, with 55 percent reading the Bible together, 80 percent saying grace at family meals, and 88 percent talking about religion.