Young Adult Perspectives After High School Report. Survey of 2,002 Young Adults Who Attended a Protestant Church Regularly in High School

Transcription

1 Young Adult Perspectives After High School Report Survey of 2,002 Young Adults Who Attended a Protestant Church Regularly in High School

2 2 Methodology A demographically balanced online panel was used for interviewing American adults between the ages of 23 and 30 years old The study was sponsored by LifeWay Students The survey was conducted September 15 October 13, 2017 Slight weights were used to balance gender, ethnicity, education, and region The sample was screened to only include those who attended a Protestant church regularly (twice a month or more) for at least a year in high school The completed sample is 2,002 surveys The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error from the online panel does not exceed +2.4% (This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting) Margins of error are higher in sub-groups

3 Participation, Commitment, Influences, and Responsibilities Between Ages 18-22

4 4 Participation between ages I regularly attended worship services 44% I participated in service projects through church I consistently gave financially to the church I attended a small group/sunday school class I attended an in-depth Bible study/ discipleship class at church I participated in missions trips 32% 31% 31% 26% 23% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

5 5 Personal commitment between ages I had a strong personal belief system in place 63% I spent regular time in prayer privately 54% I wanted the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life 41% I spent regular time reading the Bible privately 39% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

6 6 Church responsibilities between ages I held a leadership position in my activities at church 24% I had regular responsibilities at church 28% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

7 7 Influences between ages My parents/guardians attended church regularly My parents/guardians provided spiritual guidance My group of friends respected peers who attended church 52% 47% 59% An adult spent time with me regularly to help me grow spiritually A group of 2 or 3 of us students met regularly with an adult who intentionally invested us spiritually 22% 29% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

8 8 Participation between ages I regularly attended worship services 24% 86% I participated in service projects through church 19% 58% I consistently gave financially to the church 19% 56% Stayed Dropouts I participated in mission trips 16% 38% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

9 9 Small community participation between ages I attended a small group/sunday school class 18% 56% I attended an in-depth Bible study/ discipleship class at church 16% 48% Stayed Dropouts Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

10 10 Personal commitment between ages I had a strong personal belief system in place 53% 83% I spent regular time in prayer privately 44% 73% I wanted the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life 25% 73% Stayed I spent regular time reading the Bible privately 28% 60% Dropouts Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

11 11 Church responsibilities between ages I had regular responsibilities at church 15% 54% I held a leadership position in my activities at church 15% 42% Stayed Dropouts Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

12 12 Parent influence between ages My parents/guardians attended church regularly My parents/guardians provided spiritual guidance 43% 50% 78% Stayed Dropouts 70% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

13 13 Influences between ages My group of friends respected peers who attended church 35% 70% An adult spent time with me regularly to help me grow spiritually 19% 48% Stayed Dropouts A group of 2 or 3 of us students met regularly with an adult who intentionally invested us spiritually 15% 37% Q12: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life prior to turning 18 and ages by selecting either yes or no in both columns next to each statement. n=2002

14 Perceptions of Church They (had) Attended Among Year Olds

15 15 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 29% 27% 26% 22% 22% 24% 20% 21% 20% 17% 16% 13% 13% 14% 13% 0% I agreed with beliefs taught in my church My church was a source of support during personal crises Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree My church was a welcoming environment for people in my life stage Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

16 16 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 28% 23% 25% 24% 20% 16% 17% 17% 17% 14% 19% 13% 28% 19% 21% 0% I felt connected to the church as a whole I felt connected to the student ministry at my church Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree I agreed with my church s political perspective Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

17 17 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 26% 24% 26% 26% 21% 21% 23% 25% 16% 16% 17% 19% 13% 13% 13% 0% The pastor s sermons were engaging The pastor s sermons were relevant to my life Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree The worship style was appealing to me Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

18 18 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 26% 23% 24% 26% 25% 22% 22% 17% 14% 16% 18% 15% 16% 18% 19% 0% A small group leader genuinely cared about me A small group Bible study was relevant to my life Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree My church offered appealing activities or small group studies for people in my life stage Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

19 19 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 26% 28% 28% 24% 25% 25% 21% 15% 17% 19% 17% 19% 11% 12% 14% 0% My church genuinely demonstrated how to follow Jesus My church highly valued student ministry Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Other people like me attended the church Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

20 20 Perceptions of church attended when years of age 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 16% 25% 27% 24% 26% 20% 20% 17% 12% 13% 0% I was of the same culture as most people at my church Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree My church was important in my life Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

21 21 Differences in agreement* about church attended when ages I agreed with my church s political perspective 29% 63% I felt connected to the student ministry at my church 21% 49% I felt connected to the church as a whole 24% 61% My church was a welcoming environment for people in my life stage My church was a source of support during personal crises 28% 34% 66% 61% Stayed Dropouts I agreed with beliefs taught in my church 40% 75% *Selected a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale in which 1=Strongly Disagree and 5-Strongly Agree Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

22 22 Differences in agreement* about church attended when ages My church offered appealing activities or small group studies for people in my life 26% 58% A small group Bible study was relevant to my life 23% 53% A small group leader genuinely cared about me The worship style was appealing to me 30% 33% 56% 65% Stayed Dropouts The pastor s sermons were relevant to my life 33% 67% The pastor s sermons were engaging 36% 65% *Selected a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale in which 1=Strongly Disagree and 5-Strongly Agree Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

23 23 Differences in agreement* about church attended when ages My church was important in my life 28% 73% I was of the same culture as most people at my church 37% 67% Stayed Dropouts Other people like me attended the church 33% 65% My church highly valued student ministry 34% 62% My church genuinely demonstrated how to follow Jesus 37% 72% *Selected a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale in which 1=Strongly Disagree and 5-Strongly Agree Q13: Please indicate your perceptions prior to turning 18 and when you were ages regarding the church you had attended. n=2002

24 Impressions of Church Members When Ages 18-22

25 Q15: Please indicate which of the following statements describe your impression of church members in general prior to turning 18 and during ages by checking the boxes below. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY IN EACH COLUMN n= Impression of church members when years of age Politically conservative Welcoming (made me feel part of the church) Authentic/Real Caring Judgmental Forgiving Cliquish 46% 46% 42% 42% 41% 37% 37%

26 Q15: Please indicate which of the following statements describe your impression of church members in general prior to turning 18 and during ages by checking the boxes below. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY IN EACH COLUMN n= Impression of church members when years of age Disapproving of those who didn t meet their expectations Hypocritical Insincere Inspirational (like role models) Legalistic Politically liberal None of the above 36% 34% 31% 27% 18% 13% 8%

27 Q15: Please indicate which of the following statements describe your impression of church members in general prior to turning 18 and during ages by checking the boxes below. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY IN EACH COLUMN n= Significant differences in impressions of church members when ages Welcoming Authentic/Real Caring Forgiving Inspirational (like role models) Judgmental Disapproving of those who didn't meet Hypocritical Cliquish Insincere 29% 20% 26% 23% 21% 21% 27% 32% 37% 33% 41% 41% 37% 43% 42% 52% 49% 60% 59% 65% Stayed Dropouts The following did not have significant differences: Politically conservative, politically liberal, and legalistic.

28 28 Current beliefs about God I consider myself a devout Christian with a strong faith in God 39% I consider myself a Christian, but not particularly devout 27% I believe in God, but am uncertain of Christianity I consider myself spiritual, but not religious I am uncertain about my belief in God I don t believe in God or in any higher being 14% 11% 5% 4% Q24: Which of the following statements best describes your current beliefs about God? (Select One) n=2002

29 Among those who consider themselves a Christian and know the age they became a Christian, the median age is Less than age 5/Birth/Early as can remember 5-8 years old 19% 24% 9-11 years old 10% years old years old years old More than 22 years old 19% 13% 7% 7% Q25: At what age did you become a Christian? Asked of those indicating they are a Christian in Q24. n=1,039 An additional 303 did not provide an age.

30 30 Current Spiritual Practices and Church Practices I spend regular time in prayer privately 61% I want the church to help guide my decisions in everyday life 49% I consistently give financially to the church 37% I spend regular time reading the Bible privately 36% I participate in service projects through church 33% Q27: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life today by selecting either "yes" or "no" next to each statement. n=2002

31 31 Current Spiritual Practices and Church Practices I attend a small group/sunday school class 32% I have regular responsibilities at church 29% I have a leadership position in my activities at church 23% I participate in missions trips 18% Q27: Please indicate whether each of the following statements applies to your life today by selecting either "yes" or "no" next to each statement. n=2002

32 Young Adult Perspectives After High School Report Survey of 2,002 Young Adults Who Attended a Protestant Church Regularly in High School