Parents Say Church Is Making a Big Difference in Their Families: New Report

Among churchgoing parents, 91 percent of evangelical Protestants, 80 percent of those in historically Black Protestant churches, and 69 percent of Catholics say they feel supported by their congregations. The level of faith commitment also appears to play a role: Among practicing Christians who attend church, 92 percent say they feel supported, compared to 77 percent of casual Christians and 50 percent of nominal or non-Christians who attend church.

The new data is found in Chapter 2 of State of the Bible, released on Thursday.

"Church leaders and fellow Christians need to intentionally invest in parents during this demanding season of life,” said John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society’s chief innovation officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series.

“With support from their church, these caregivers can establish life-giving rhythms of prayer and Scripture engagement with their children, and in their own personal discipleship. Parents are carrying a heavy load, and all of us in the Church can help them carry it.”

Gen Z parents (62 percent) are more likely than their Gen Z non-parent counterparts (44 percent) to identify as Christian – a divide that is also evident among Millennials, where 64 percent of parents identify as Christian compared to 49 percent of non-parents.

Data surrounding parents’ engagement with Scripture is more complicated. Although parents (46 percent) are less likely than non-parents (59 percent) to fall into the category of the Bible disengaged – those who rarely or never read Scripture – they are not more likely to be classified as Bible Engaged (16 percent for parents versus 18 percent for non-parents). Instead, parents are far more likely to fall within the “Movable Middle,” a category marked by an appreciation for the Bible and moderate interaction with it, but without a disciplined commitment. That group includes 38 percent of parents, compared to 23 percent of non-parents.

“We’ve already seen that ‘work-family balance’ and ‘fatigue’ sit at the top of parental frustrations,” the report said. “Perhaps some parents just don’t have time (or feel they don’t) for the personal and community disciplines involved in Scripture Engagement.”

Meanwhile, the data on whether children and teens enjoy going to church appears to run counter to what is often conventional wisdom. More than seven in 10 parents (72 percent) of children ages 2-5 say their kids enjoy attending church, while 66 percent of parents with children ages 6-12 and 61 percent of parents with teens ages 13-17 say the same.

“It’s delightful to see about two-thirds of these children ‘liking’ their church experience, but we also take note of the trend line that extends well beyond childhood,” the report said. “Perhaps church leaders could start reversing the widely reported generational slide by starting early, creating robust opportunities for middle schoolers and teens to engage more joyously with their faith, their church, and the Bible.”

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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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