Little is known about the effect of various social contexts on the development of belief for emerging adults. Specifically, college has been shown to both diminish and strengthen beliefs. I show that identifying as religious or non-religious is largely decoupled from beliefs and practices among emerging adults at a mainstream denominational…

Scripture encourages parents to pass on faith to children, and a multitude of studies show that the biggest predictor of the faith of kids is the faith of their parents. However, raising kids in faith is more complicated and nuanced than simple "parent to child" religious transmission. In this paper, animal family models are used to…

This article addresses a gap in research on LGBTQ inclusion in Catholic schools that has largely been silent on the experiences of non-heterosexual Catholic teachers. I consider how Judith Butler's conception of precarity sheds light on the complex positionality of LGBTQ Catholic (religious) educators in the heteronormative setting of Catholic…

This essay invites readers to consider that full inclusion in religious spaces -- including in religious education -- may demand the sacralization of sexualized bodies. Noting that minoritization and sexualization often go hand in hand, such that the bodies of women, queer and trans people, and religious and ethnic minorities, among others, are…

Preparing future Christian leaders to take their place in the Church is not only about ensuring they have the capacities (intellectual, pastoral, strategic leadership, public performance, etc.), but that they become significant carriers of the traditions, beliefs, and practices that define a particular community of faith. Learning to become a…

When people of faith participate in movements for social change, how are their religious and moral identities formed, challenged, and transformed? Although they have explicit and tangible goals as they participate in advocacy, protest, and boycotts, religious social activists also, James Jasper argues, craft "lives worth living" (1997).…

The aim of this article is to present a framework for studying the religious identity development of highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents. Building on existing theories on identity development, the authors define highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents as "orthoprax" adolescents and explore the consequences of this for…

Of all the dimensions of religiosity, where the Israeli religious adolescent is concerned, faith identity and religious behavior seem the most relevant. Research findings on the relative influence of various socialization agents on the religiosity of adolescents are ambiguous. The primary objective of this study was to compare the various agents…

"Keeping Up with the Steins" (2006) is the first Hollywood film to focus on the Bar Mitzvah ceremony in its family, congregational, and Jewish community context. The film demonstrates how popular culture reflects community values, but may also shape them. The hero is alienated both from the synagogue service and his mega-Bar Mitzvah party. In line…

Starting his work as endowed Hendrik Pierson Professor for Christian Education at VU University Amsterdam in 1993 the author focused on the relationship of education, pedagogy, and religion. However, his attention was rather exclusively directed to Protestant schools. The argument was that in academia at that time, even in the faculties of…

Religious Education is one way to increase and maintain community involvement among teenagers. In many Jewish communities across the United States, participation in religious activities and religious youth movements have decreased. As research in this area is limited, this study sets out to identify the curricula that are more effective in…

The last decade identity is often and very fruitfully conceptualized as "narrative identity." Neither for individuals nor for groups is identity a given beforehand anymore. On the contrary, identity has to be constructed in an inductive way continuously. Three qualitative research methods are applied to explore in an inductive way the…

This study examines religious identity development of pupils at Dutch schools for secondary education (mean age 16.4). With the help of a theoretical conceptualization of "religious identity development" empirical research is carried out. Main question is whether differences in terms of religious commitment and exploration between pupils…

Relates the racist character of the Protestant church to the processes of acculturation and secularized forms of self identity, and outlines some implications for local churches' social action programs. (Author/SF)

This study examined the relationship between spiritual identity and ego identity among religiously observant adolescents in Israel. Seventy-eight religious tenth graders studying in yeshivot (boys) and ulpanot (girls) were tested. The Ego Identity Scale for Adolescents and a Questionnaire of Religious Beliefs were administered to them. Throughout…