At What Age do People Lose Their Faith

Yet another Christian organization is wringing its hands about empty churches. It is trying, maybe more seriously than others, to find the magic key that turns back the exodus from Christianity. 

The leader of one of the leading Christian polling organizations, Pew Group, gives talks around the country admonishing Christian parents to raise children that are Christian adults. Raising children is an academic field but not his. He sort of says, "Just do it," but he doesn't seem to know how.

I came across another Christian group which is trying to more specifically pinpoint what happens to the youth leaving and when it happens. Not being that interested in the specifics, I had always assumed children leave the faith in their late teens when they start reading more sophisticated material and begin the find the holes in Christian tenets. 

Most of the polling about lost Christians were from adults remembering, or trying to remember, when they lost interest in the faith. This group has been asking children directly. They found a surprise. It is at the age of 13 that children begin to say, "Religion is not important." The polling also found parents believe their children to be much more religious than the children actually are. The "one in five" rule used everywhere reflecting the fact that only 20% of children follow their parents into the faith is all but complete by the time children reach the age of 14. This was an amazing finding.

A social scientist who made such a discovery would report it in a paper but normally not comment on the exodus as being either good nor bad. The group in the link are Christians, however, and found the magic number of 13 years old and want to "fix it." Anyone who has raised children or been around 13 years olds might roll eyes about the recommended "fixes."

It's been widely known for decades children are influenced at least as much or more by their peers than by their parents. How, then, can a parent offset or redirect children away from peers who might affect their child? The link touches on things like managing friendships and managing time spent on phones. We have parents trying to manage what books are in public libraries. 

I have my doubts parents will be able to manage the lives of 13 year olds in a way that offsets the world-wide trend away from religion. Probably thirteen year olds have been the same since the first humans.