|
If you are one who is statistically minded, or simply enjoy looking at empirical attempts at measuring the faith of American teens, you might enjoy this regular report of youth and religion found online at the website www.youthandreligion.org. Their most recent survey revealed that approximately one-third of all U.S. Protestant teenagers (32 percent) report that they personally read the Bible alone once a week or more often, according to researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion. The majority of U.S. Protestant teenagers say that they read the Bible either less frequently or not at all. Furthermore, of all U.S. teenagers, only about one in four reads the sacred scripture of their religious tradition weekly or more often (26 percent). Large numbers of U.S. teenagers do claim religious affiliations and report attending religious services. But the findings here suggest that far fewer U.S. teens regularly engage in more personal religious practices of faith-like scripture reading- things that many religious traditions, especially Protestantism, have long emphasized as crucial for spiritual growth. To read the entire story, including a breakdown by specific Protestant denominations, visit their website. PDFs are best viewed in Acrobat 5.0. Terrific Bible Studies for TeensWe recently distributed samples of the Teen Text Bible Study created by the good people at the Educational Center. These come monthly over email and are a wonderful way to explore the lectionary. Find out more, and request a free sample, by emailing marvelous Ann Baker at ann@educationalcenter.org.
|
