Christian Socialization during Youth and Christian Convictions from Early to Late Midlife*

Abstract

Christian convictions are investigated during the life course. As for causes during youth, a Christian socialization and good intergenerational relations in the family should have a positive impact – socialization and generational hypotheses. As for causes during the life course, personal attachments should have a positive, and success a negative impact – self-transcendence hypothesis; and experiences of illness and death should have a positive impact – crisis hypothesis. As for changes, a monotone increase of Christian convictions with age is expected – ageing hypothesis. The sample consists of 1301 former German high school students, first interviewed in 1969 at the age of 16, and again interviewed at the ages of 30, 43, and 56. The socialization hypothesis is confirmed according to most of its indicators, the remaining hypotheses are confirmed only in part.

Ethno-religious socialisation, national culture and the social construction of British Muslim identity

“…151, 154-155) It is for this reason that religious identities firmly transmitted to children by significant others during this formative period have a high probability of persisting throughout the individual's life. This assertion is substantiated by a wide range of studies in multiple international contexts, some longitudinal, which taken together reinforce the almost axiomatic power of parental socialisation to embed worlds of meaning within the consciousness of the growing child (Birkelbach and Meulemann 2013;Hayes and Pittelkow 1993;Özdikmenli-Demir and Şahin-Kütük 2012;Stott 1988;van de Pol and van Tubergen 2014). For example, McGuckin et al (2009) examined the influence of parents on the religiosity of children across ten countries.…”

The Effects of Intergenerational Ministry on the Transmission of Christian Faith in Korean Immigrant Churches in the United States

“…The second primary factor that contributed to children's later religious beliefs was family religious activities during childhood and adolescence. Christian socialization in the family during adolescence had the strongest positive influence on their conviction in their adult years and later life (Barry et al, 2013; Birkelbach & Meulemann, 2013; Dollahite et al, 2019; Goodman & Dyer, 2019; Martin et al, 2003).…”