Religious Services Attendance
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Headline

Eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students who plan to complete four years of college were more likely than others to attend religious services at least once per week in 2006. (See Table 1)

Importance

Religion plays an important role in the lives of many children and teens.¹ Teens who attend religious services are less likely to take risks or enjoy danger, engage in violent behaviors, or to get in trouble with the police.² These teens are also less likely to skip school or be suspended, expelled, or sent to detention.³ Teens who attend religious services are more likely to volunteer in their communities, participate in student government, and play sports or exercise regularly.⁴ These teens are also less likely than those who do not attend religious services to drink alcohol and to use illicit drugs.⁵ In addition, teens who attend religious services tend to hold more conservative attitudes toward sex and to have lower levels of sexual experience.⁶

Research has found religious service attendance to be positively correlated with education measures such as educational expectations among high school students and verbal scores among girls. One study found that the academic benefit of religious service attendance for youth living in low-income neighborhoods increased as factors such as poverty and unemployment increased.⁷

Trends

Between 1991 and 2002, the percentage of twelfth- and tenth grade students who attended religious services at least once a week increased modestly, from 31 percent in 1991 to 35 percent in 2002 for twelfth graders, and from 38 percent to 42 percent for tenth graders. However, religious service attendance decreased significantly between 2002 and 2006, to 32 percent for twelfth graders, and to 36 percent among tenth graders. Between 1991 and 2006, the percentage of eighth grade students who attended religious services at least once a week also decreased, from 47 percent in 1991 to 42 percent in 2006. (See Figure 1)

Differences by Race and Ethnicity

Among eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students, black students are more likely than white students to attend religious services, a gap that increases with age. In 2006, for example, 47 percent of black eighth grade students attended religious services at least once a week, as compared with 44 percent of white eighth graders, representing a 3 percentage point gap. By twelfth grade, that gap increases to 13 percentage points, with 44 percent of black twelfth graders attending religious services, compared with 31 percent of white twelfth graders. (See Figure 2)

Differences by Gender

In 2006, females in the twelfth, tenth and eighth grade were more likely than males to attend religious services (34 percent versus 30 percent for twelfth graders, 37 percent versus 35 percent for tenth graders, and 44 percent versus 40 percent for eighth graders). (See Table 1)

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Differences by Parental Education

Students whose parents have graduated from college are more likely than students whose parents are less well-educated to attend religious services, a pattern represented across grade levels. For example, among eighth grade students in 2006, half of those whose parents had completed college attended religious services regularly, compared with 31 percent of those whose parents had not completed high school. (See Figure 3)

Differences by College Plans

Students who plan to complete four years of college are more likely than students who do not have such plans to attend religious services. In 2006, 34 percent of twelfth graders who planned to complete four years of college attended religious services at least weekly, compared with 24 percent among twelfth graders who did not have such plans. Similar differences are found among tenth and eighth grade students. (See Table 1)

Related Indicators

Religiosity

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State and Local Estimates

State estimates for 2003 are available through the National Survey for Children's Health at http://nschdata.org/anonymous/Dataquery/DataQuery.aspx?control=5 (Select The Child's Family under State Profile)

International Estimates

None available

National Goals

There are no national goals for religious attendance, but recent federal faith-based initiatives recognize importance of religious organizations in youths' lives.

More information available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

Research References

¹Bridges, Lisa J., and Kristin Anderson Moore. (September 2002). "Religious Involvement and Children's Well-Being: What Research Tells Us (And What It Doesn't)," Child Trends Research Brief. Washington D.C., Child Trends. http://www.childtrends.org/Files/ReligiosityRB.pdf

²Smith, Christian and Robert Faris. (2002). Religion and American Adolescent Delinquency, Risk Behaviors and Constructive Social Activities. National Study of Youth and Religion. Chapel Hill, NC. http://www.youthandreligion.org/publications/docs/RiskReport1.pdf

³Ibid.

⁴Ibid.

⁵National Center on Addition and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. (2001). So Help Me God: Substance Abuse, Religion, and Spirituality, pp 8-12. http://www.casacolumbia.org/ViewProduct.aspx?PRODUCTID={0D8D736C-CC5B-40a8-91F5-84810E8978DA}

⁶Bridges, Lisa J., and Kristin Anderson Moore. (September 2002).
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/ReligiosityRB.pdf

⁷Regnerus, Mark, Smith, Christian and Fritsch, Melissa. (2003). Religion in the lives of American adolescents: A review of the literature. National Study of Youth and Religion, Research Report Number 3. Available at: http://www.youthandreligion.org/publications/docs/litreview.pdf

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Definition

Students were asked, "How often do you attend religious services?" This indicator reflects those who answered "about once a week or more."

Data Source

Child Trends original analysis of Monitoring the Future Survey data, 1976 to 2006.

Raw Data Source

Bachman, Jerald G., Lloyd D. Johnston, and Patrick M. O'Malley. Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (8th, 10th, and 12th-Grade Surveys), 1976-2006 [Computer files]. Conducted by University of Michigan, Survey Research Center. ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].
ICPSR: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu
Monitoring the Future:http://www.monitoringthefuture.org

Approximate Date of Next Update

November 2008

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