Presenters: Professor Merril D Silverstein (Syracuse University)
Chair: Professor Paul Chaney
Location: Main Building, Council Chamber, Cardiff
Although religiosity is often considered a personal characteristic, it is also a social product, forged by early socialization that primarily takes place in nuclear and extended families. In this presentation I examine the strength with which religious attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours are passed down to younger generations within three-generation lineages, as well as the family conditions that facilitate or inhibit religious continuity. Data derive from respondents participating in the Longitudinal Study of Generations between 1971 and 2005. Results indicate that grandparents and parents independently influence the religiosity of grandchildren, with parents exerting an effect three times that of grandparents. Grandparents’ religiosity is also conveyed to their grandchildren by magnifying the religious influence of parents, but is inhibited from transmission under conditions of parental divorce. I conclude that religious orientations persist across multiple generations and over long periods of time, but signs of disruption are seen in new family forms.
Resources
Part of the 2016 Civil Society Seminar Series, this presentation examined the strength with which religious attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours are passed down to younger generations within three-generation lineages, as well as the family conditions that facilitate or inhibit religious continuity.