While the Center of Spiritual Development in Children and Adolescents builds up its own database, it is important to also look to other extant sources of data that are also examining the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of youth. One such source was identified in a previous Fast Facts entry, which summarized some data from the World Values Survey. Another important publicly available data source is the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR).
The purpose of this research project is to understand the role and influence of religion and spirituality among United States teenagers, as well as describe religious practices and the outcomes and consequences for youth involved in religious programs and activities, mostly (though not exclusively) from a sociological perspective. This means that the researchers of the NSYR are primarily interested in understanding how societal institutions (e.g., congregations, families, communities) influence and affect religion and spirituality for youth in contemporary American culture. The project is funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., and directed by Christian Smith at the University of Notre Dame and Lisa Peace at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Initial data collection for the NSYR began in 2002/2003 and consisted of a nationally representative telephone survey of over 3000 U.S. English- and Spanish-speaking youth aged 13 – 17 and one of their parents. Additionally, a subsample of youth (N=267) were interviewed in order to provide more detailed information about these youth’s religious, spiritual, family, and social lives. In 2005, these procedures were repeated, with a youth sample aged 16 – 21, and the NSYR project received funding late in 2006 to conduct a third wave of data collection, which will follow these same youth into early adulthood.
Among the questions the researchers hope to address using this dataset include the following:
- In what religious practices are different kinds of American youth in fact regularly engaged?
- What factors—familial, denominational, social—tend to keep youth involved in religious congregations and faith practices? * Are there any particular experiences or processes which are crucial in solidifying the religious identities and commitments of youth?
- What programs and opportunities for youth involvement do different religious organizations offer to youth, how much do youth participate in them, and how do youth experience and evaluate these programs?
- How do the religious interests, concerns, and practices of American youth vary between different races, ages, social classes, ecological settings (rural versus urban), and between boys and girls?
- In what ways does religion influence the extent and quality of family relationships, academic achievements, and community involvements of American youth?
As per the NSYR website, this project has yielded 6 major topical reports, a number of articles published in academic journals, and two books: Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, and Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers. Their most recent report, “Portraits of Protestant Teens,” describes religion in the lives of Protestant youth from a number of different perspectives, including “denominational differences in religious beliefs, religious activities, religious faith and practices, evaluations of church, moral views, risk behaviors and civic activities” not only from all Protestant youth, but also broken out by more specific Protestant affiliations. Figure 1 provides a sample of the kind of data reported in this report (data taken from http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/2005-0523.html)
Figure 1
Thus, as the researchers on the NSYR continue to provide researchers, practitioners and others with important results regarding the religious and spiritual lives of youth in our country, they also provide immensely helpful resources for scholars regarding the spiritual development of youth from a global perspective.
