January 23, 2020
Activities: Education, Religion / Spiritual Development
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Annual ROI: 0.0%
Image source: Unsplash
The practice of religion is a powerful antidote to many of our nation’s pressing social ills, many of which have reached historically high proportions. Yet, despite the societal benefits of religion, the expression of faith in the public square has faced many challenges.
Social science research indicates that permitting and accommodating free religious practice is necessary to move society in positive directions.
Because education is important in so many ways for all citizens, any factor that promotes academic achievement is important to the common good. Academic expectations, level of education attained, school attendance, and academic performance are all positively affected by religious practice. In two literature reviews conducted by Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas at Austin, educational attainment aspirations and math and reading scores correlated positively with more frequent religious practice. The below graph, based on analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, gives a picture of GPA scores across the U.S. for adolescents in grades 7-12.
Parents’ religious practice also affects their children’s educational outcomes. The greater the parents’ religious involvement, the more likely they will have higher educational expectations for their children, and the more likely they will communicate with their children about schooling.6) Their children will be more likely to pursue advanced courses, spend more time on homework, establish friendships with academically oriented peers, avoid cutting classes, and successfully complete their degrees. According to Dr. Patrick Fagan and Dr. Scott Talkington’s analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, individuals who attended religious services frequently were more likely to graduate from high school and to receive a Bachelor’ s degree.
Students in religiously affiliated schools tend to exhibit a higher level of academic achievement than their peers in secular schools, particularly in low-income urban neighborhoods. For example, studies continue to find that inner-city students in public schools lag behind in educational achievement, compared with students in Catholic schools.
The cultural values of a religious community are also a significant pathway to academic success for adolescents. For example, to earn a high school diploma or take advanced math courses, children must plan for the future and structure their activities accordingly. Religious communities typically invest in forming an ethic of such discipline and persistence. A recent study confirms both this indirect contribution of religious community values and the direct influence of the students’ own religious activities in promoting academic achievement.
Earlier studies found this same relationship between religious practice and academic discipline. For example, in 1985, the groundbreaking work of Richard Freeman of Harvard University revealed that attendance at religious services and activities positively affected inner-city youth school attendance, work activity, and allocation of time—all of which were further linked to a decreased likelihood of engaging in deviant activities. Youth who frequently attended religious services were five times less likely to skip school, compared with peers who seldom or never attended.
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