A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents
Lisa D. Pearce and Melinda Lundquist Denton
Oxford University Press, 2011, 248 pp., $24.95
Contrary to popular belief, religion is a significant force in the lives of most adolescents. As adolescents move through this time of rapid change physically, socially and emotionally, faith is a dynamic—not settled—aspect of teenagers’ lives.
This study tracks teenagers through a three-year period to investigate the development of faith over a period of time. In time, teens typically settle into one of five categories: Abiders, Assenters, Adapters, Avoiders or Atheists. Of course, youth workers want to produce the fruit of Abiders with a strong faith that includes: Belief in God, exclusivism, prayer, attendance, importance of faith, and closeness to God; but how does that happen? Why do we often end up Adapters and Assenters where there is some-to-strong personal faith, but little if any exclusivity of faith?
The impact of certain socio-cultural constructs clearly provides a fertile context in which students can recognize and respond to the work of the Spirit in their lives. Students most likely to thrive as Abiders are engaged in a community of faith that provides “a welcoming, challenging atmosphere that values and integrates youth.”
The concept of social scaffolding in A Faith of Their Own is leading the way in creating a new kind of faith formation—a faith that is fruitfully nurtured in community as parents, peers and faith communities strengthen the developmental context for creating a sustainable faith in teenagers. Social scaffolding further “offers both space to grow into their newly acquired autonomy and guidance to help them figure out what to do with it.” It is without question that faith formation is fruitfully nurtured in community because “parents, peers and congregations have the potential to strengthen the overall social scaffolding during adolescent religious refinement.” This is a must-read for those concerned about developing a sustainable faith in teenager.
