Research for both the driving and auxiliary questions consisted of both popular and scholarly articles. The scholarly articles were written by academic professionals that did studies on faith development, especially in adolescents. The popular articles were written by everyday people who had experienced or influenced development on a first-hand basis. We summarized these articles by taking out the quotes we believed were most important(Links to these articles can be found on the sources page).
The first article focused on three main Bible passages that discussed faith development. The first was Deuteronomy 6 when the Israelites received the Ten Commandments for the second time, and God instructs them to keep these commandments in their hearts and pass them on to future generations. This would allow God’s Word to spread, and be passed down. The second passage discussed was Psalm 78, stating to use the past of the Bible and tell it to the future. It must also be shown and told at all times, so that no one forgets who God is. The third passage used was Hebrews 11, discussing the examples of faith in action. It reminds people of the sacrifice Christ had given us, and why our faith should be spread. The article was useful in answering how the gospel is implemented into our daily lives(sharing it often), and what resources to use when sharing our faith (past examples of faith in action).
What is it about their faith that causes it to crumble? In order for teens to have a solid faith, two important things must take place. First, teens need to be able to experience God as He was meant to be experienced. Secondly, teens need to be able to know that the presence of God is around them and that by interacting with His presence, they are growing and strengthening their faith
It is also suggested that parents begin praying with and teaching their children at the earliest age possible in order that they might instill a desire for learning and growth. Parents today must look at the example in Deuteronomy and see that it takes absolute dedication to telling and teaching their children daily about the loving, caring nature of God
The second articles discussed community as the best way to develop faith. The congregation must be positive role models to adolescents so that they can see real faith in Christ in action, and inspire teens to live out their faith. The article also stressed on the importance of leadership. It is important for teens to take an active role in their church and community in order to demonstrate their faith. There has to be an initiative by the adolescents in order for their strength to grow. This article answered how to make sure there are others helping you grow in your faith by being positive role models and counselors to teenagers. It also implied that the church community is the place to receive answers about our faith.
Congregations that both teach youth the Christian way of life (socialization) and create conditions where teens feel they meet God (religious experience) tend to have large numbers of teens who predict that they will continue to be active in the church after they leave home. “The process of faith transmission goes two ways: congregations transmit faith to teens and teens transmit back a revised faith that prompts renegotiation about the faith tradition itself. In this renegotiation, the tradition is vitalized.” (Lytch, 10)
The third article discussed how adolescents develop their identity and faith in different phases. The first was diffusion, those who do not explore their identity and faith, and do not know what to believe about faith, nor do they care. The second phases was foreclosure, adolescents who identify their faith solely from family beliefs, and do not question or explore faith further. The third phase was moratorium, the individuals who challenge what they have inherited, and begin to doubt their faith. The fourth stage was achievement, where the individual hold a stable confinement to their faiths and standards, and have explored faith through experience and research. The article answered how questions in faith can be answered through how adolescents develop their identity. It also answered how opposition to faith must be handled by exploring the situation and experience based on God’s teaching only.
Beginning in the 1960's, psychologist James Marcia (based on Erik Erikson's work) developed four basic phases of identity development: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement. 1 The characteristics of each phase are as follows:
The fourth article was a scholarly research on faith development in adolescents. The article noted that parents were the most important factor in developing their child’s faith. If a parent was active in their faith in Christ, their child was inspired to do the same. On the other hand, if the parent did not have faith, or was distant from it, their child was not able to develop their faith. The research concluded that outside social interactions also impacted faith development. When adolescents develop friendships, it depends on whether or not those friends are also growing in their faith that determines whether that individual will continue to develop in their faith as well. The article answered the question of how to overcome the peer pressure of losing faith, and how community is important in faith development as well.
The transmission model was strongly supported by the findings that both parent and friend modeling of faith behavior (e.g., showing faith by word and deed, consistency in how they live out their faith, etc.) is significantly predictive of adolescent religious faith. This resonates with the findings of others (e.g., Flor & Knapp, 2001; Hoge & Petrillo, 1978; King et al., 2002; Martin et al., 2001) that adolescents who witness in their parents consistent and powerful examples of Christian lifestyle and fellowship are more likely themselves to express a stronger belief in God, integration of faith and life, and participation in spiritual acts.
The first article focused on three main Bible passages that discussed faith development. The first was Deuteronomy 6 when the Israelites received the Ten Commandments for the second time, and God instructs them to keep these commandments in their hearts and pass them on to future generations. This would allow God’s Word to spread, and be passed down. The second passage discussed was Psalm 78, stating to use the past of the Bible and tell it to the future. It must also be shown and told at all times, so that no one forgets who God is. The third passage used was Hebrews 11, discussing the examples of faith in action. It reminds people of the sacrifice Christ had given us, and why our faith should be spread. The article was useful in answering how the gospel is implemented into our daily lives(sharing it often), and what resources to use when sharing our faith (past examples of faith in action).
What is it about their faith that causes it to crumble? In order for teens to have a solid faith, two important things must take place. First, teens need to be able to experience God as He was meant to be experienced. Secondly, teens need to be able to know that the presence of God is around them and that by interacting with His presence, they are growing and strengthening their faith
It is also suggested that parents begin praying with and teaching their children at the earliest age possible in order that they might instill a desire for learning and growth. Parents today must look at the example in Deuteronomy and see that it takes absolute dedication to telling and teaching their children daily about the loving, caring nature of God
The second articles discussed community as the best way to develop faith. The congregation must be positive role models to adolescents so that they can see real faith in Christ in action, and inspire teens to live out their faith. The article also stressed on the importance of leadership. It is important for teens to take an active role in their church and community in order to demonstrate their faith. There has to be an initiative by the adolescents in order for their strength to grow. This article answered how to make sure there are others helping you grow in your faith by being positive role models and counselors to teenagers. It also implied that the church community is the place to receive answers about our faith.
Congregations that both teach youth the Christian way of life (socialization) and create conditions where teens feel they meet God (religious experience) tend to have large numbers of teens who predict that they will continue to be active in the church after they leave home. “The process of faith transmission goes two ways: congregations transmit faith to teens and teens transmit back a revised faith that prompts renegotiation about the faith tradition itself. In this renegotiation, the tradition is vitalized.” (Lytch, 10)
The third article discussed how adolescents develop their identity and faith in different phases. The first was diffusion, those who do not explore their identity and faith, and do not know what to believe about faith, nor do they care. The second phases was foreclosure, adolescents who identify their faith solely from family beliefs, and do not question or explore faith further. The third phase was moratorium, the individuals who challenge what they have inherited, and begin to doubt their faith. The fourth stage was achievement, where the individual hold a stable confinement to their faiths and standards, and have explored faith through experience and research. The article answered how questions in faith can be answered through how adolescents develop their identity. It also answered how opposition to faith must be handled by exploring the situation and experience based on God’s teaching only.
Beginning in the 1960's, psychologist James Marcia (based on Erik Erikson's work) developed four basic phases of identity development: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement. 1 The characteristics of each phase are as follows:
- Diffusion: This status can be understood as the "don't know, don't care" status. This stage describes adolescents who have not experienced any identity "crisis" or even done any exploration, nor do they have a stable set of commitments. Persons in diffusion have simply not thought about their identity. They are not sure what they believe about key issues such as religion, politics, gender roles, or occupation, nor are they concerned with them.
- Foreclosure: This is a status in which adolescents have definite opinions about their identity, but those opinions have been inherited from external forces rather than cultivated from within themselves. They have stable commitments, but have not experienced exploration or crisis. For example, they vote how their parents vote, not because they have chosen to agree with their parents, but because they have never questioned the political views they inherited.
- Moratorium: The moratorium status is the stage in which individuals challenge what they have inherited. They question who they are and what they believe and are unable to land on clearly defined beliefs and standards. For this reason, they will often express doubts and uncertainties about what they believe.
- Achievement: The goal of identity development is to reach the achieved status. It is the status wherein individuals have explored who they are and what they believe and hold stable commitments to a set of beliefs, values and standards. Their identity is defined, and they have thought through their perspectives
The fourth article was a scholarly research on faith development in adolescents. The article noted that parents were the most important factor in developing their child’s faith. If a parent was active in their faith in Christ, their child was inspired to do the same. On the other hand, if the parent did not have faith, or was distant from it, their child was not able to develop their faith. The research concluded that outside social interactions also impacted faith development. When adolescents develop friendships, it depends on whether or not those friends are also growing in their faith that determines whether that individual will continue to develop in their faith as well. The article answered the question of how to overcome the peer pressure of losing faith, and how community is important in faith development as well.
The transmission model was strongly supported by the findings that both parent and friend modeling of faith behavior (e.g., showing faith by word and deed, consistency in how they live out their faith, etc.) is significantly predictive of adolescent religious faith. This resonates with the findings of others (e.g., Flor & Knapp, 2001; Hoge & Petrillo, 1978; King et al., 2002; Martin et al., 2001) that adolescents who witness in their parents consistent and powerful examples of Christian lifestyle and fellowship are more likely themselves to express a stronger belief in God, integration of faith and life, and participation in spiritual acts.