Disciplines
• Human Development
• Family Studies
Religion and families: When studying
human families, it is important to look at
whether and to what degree religion plays
a role in human development and family relationships.
Over centuries, the structure and expectations
of human families has changed - markedly in
the modern era, with the growing acceptance
of divorce, single-parent families and non-traditional
families. Historically, religious beliefs
have influenced people's decisions to marry,
stay together and have a family, as well as
the size of the family (Catholics and Mormons,
for example, frequently have large families
for religious reasons), styles of child-rearing
and morals taught to children. Religion and
religious practice can be factors that bind
a family together, or enforce negative practices
of child-rearing that result in isolation
as children or adults. When learning about
human development and families, practitioners
can in many cases factor in religion as an
influence for relationships, self-definition
and behavior.
Research: There
is a growing interest in studying religion's
role in families. According to a 2003 University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study,
adolescents in families actively involved
in religious activities tend to enjoy stronger
family relationships than youths whose families
have less or no religious involvement. It
might be that religion improves family relationships,
or that youth and families already committed
to high-quality family relationships choose
to become more religiously involved as one
strategy to pursue them. Other studies have
looked at the specific types of religious
behavior and frequency of occurrence in
analyzing family relationships.
MU's Center
on Religion & the Professions is applying for a National Institutes
of Health grant to study spirituality and
health risk behaviors in adolescents, through
its Spirituality and Health research project.
According to a recent poll on religion and
the family conducted for Religion &
Ethics Newsweekly, nearly three-quarters
Americans agree that "God's plan for
marriage is one man, one woman, for life."
A strong majority (71 percent) idealize
the traditional family even as divorce,
cohabitation and nontraditional family situations
are becoming more accepted across religious
groups. Only 22 percent of Americans think
divorce is a sin and almost half (49 percent)
say that cohabitation is acceptable. According
to the survey, the growing acceptance of
divorce is also occurring among religious
conservatives. Only 34 percent of evangelical
Christians and 30 percent of traditional
Catholics say that divorce is a sin.
Reaching out: Understanding
the religious climate in which families
operate can both help practitioners better
serve those family and also lend insight
to how to improve family lives for others.
For example, understanding that early adolescents
living in religiously involved families
tend to enjoy better family lives may help
in determining ways to boost the quality
of life of U.S. adolescents. An earlier
report from that project showed that religious
teens were less likely to smoke, drink and
use drugs and more likely to start later
and use less if they did. They went to bars
less often, received fewer traffic tickets,
wore seat belts more, took fewer risks and
fought less frequently. Shoplifting, other
thefts, trespassing and arson also were
rarer. Another part of the study reported
that high school seniors who went to religious
services at least once a week or who professed
deeply held spiritual views enjoyed significantly
higher self-esteem and were more positive
about life than others.
Practitioners can
also understand that fewer families today
fit the traditional family pattern, which
is a trend religious groups are addressing
as well. Many churches, for example, have
adapted their programs to reach out to untraditional
families and retain members. Some have changed
their approach to emphasize individual freedom
and personal spirituality, and to actively
welcome single adults and those from nontraditional
families. Practitioners could also be aware
of other religiously influenced trends,
including the rise in students home schooled
by their parents (often influenced by a
desire to spend "quality" time
with children, as well as select study materials
and teach particular moral beliefs and points
of view). Another trend is church day-care
centers that are open to children not affiliated
with the church. Some have religious curriculums
and some do not - but many provide safe
and structured child care for single mothers
and working parents, providing both a service
to the community and an outreach for the
church.
Issues today:
In addition to paying attention to the role
of religion in family life and what can
be learned about family relationships as
a result, practitioners can understand how
modern trends in family life are being addressed
from a religious perspective. As the United
States becomes more culturally and ethnically
diverse, practitioners will also encounter
different religious beliefs and family structures.
They can learn to address and understand
these families on their own terms, understanding
the particular roles of parents, men, women,
children, seniority and spiritual beliefs.
Policies can recognize differences, champion
diversity and promote cultural awareness,
perhaps having practitioners work with families
in their own language or with a practitioner
of the same ethnicity. They can also learn
from these families their standards of family
structure and behavior, to inform their
understanding of all families. Families
of all types and backgrounds continue to
shape today's culture.
International
Journal for the Psychology of Religion
International
Journal of Children's Spirituality
American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Search
Counseling
From a Spiritual Perspective
Tim Teague
George Mason University
Spiritual
Concepts for Counseling
Father Lawrence Stasyszen and Dr. Ron Faulk
Saint Gregory's University
Family Christian Association of America
• See a full list of professional associations and resources here.
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