The study examined religious worldviews in particular, which obviously tend to place a big emphasis on morality. So it makes some intuitive sense that faith-driven teens would be less likely to drink or use drugs illegally. However, the numbers are pretty interesting. Only 6 percent of religious teens admitted to smoking a cigarette in the past six months—less than half the 14 percent of non-religious teens who smoked. While 19 percent of religious teens said they drank alcohol, that was way less than the 34 percent of less religiously inclined kids. (The Blaze)
Paul Asay has written for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for PluggedIn and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He recently collaborated with Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, on his book The Good Dad. He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Check out his entertainment blog or follow him on Twitter.