This is a follow-up to “Soul Searching,” a major sociological report about the beliefs of America’s teenagers, based on more than 3,000 interviews. In a review in America (Sept. 19, 2005) of the book by the same title, Tom Beaudoin called the study “illuminating and essential reading for anyone who interacts with teenagers today.” The authors have now published A Faith of Their Own, charting what changes if any have occurred among the first wave of interviewees back in 2005. They show, as John A. Coleman, S.J., notes in a recent review in America (June 20), that “religiosity among teenagers…is multidimensional.” In one chapter the authors profile the five “A’s of religiosity:” abiders, assenters, adapters, avoiders and atheists. The influence of peers, parents and religious institutions weigh significantly in the authors’ analyses. Also important is the concept of “scaffolding,” a term social scientists employ in regard to helping children solve problems “by creating a context in which the child can participate at a level just beyond his current capabilities.”
Coleman commends the book for its “supple methodology” as he urges religious educators and/or youth ministers to pursue its findings. We too recommend the book to a broad readership for its important, useful and enlightening insights.
Purchase A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents
This article appears in June 20 2011.
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