Spiritual issues not important in raising children, poll finds

Although surveys have indicated parents are frustrated with the corrupt culture in which they are trying to raise moral children, researcher George Barna said he is surprised that the percentage of parents who are concerned about their children's spiritual development is not larger, reports Baptist Press.

A recent poll by The Barna Group found four out of 10 Christian parents of children between the ages of 3 and 18 said they do not face any spiritual challenges in their life.

"Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age 13 boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life," Barna said in a news release Aug. 6. "Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else."

Barna expected the study of exclusively Christian parents with young children to yield a broader emphasis on the challenges related to raising spiritually healthy offspring. He noted the need for parents to live out a vibrant, authentic faith in order for children to see a pattern worth following.

"Children rarely embrace spiritual principles and practices that their parents fail to demonstrate in their lifestyle," he said.

The study, Barna said, indicates that personal spiritual development is a secondary consideration for millions of Americans.

"Many of the same people who claim that their faith is very important to them and that they are absolutely committed to Christianity also say that they face no spiritual challenges in life," he said. "Many other adults are only vaguely aware of such challenges and do not put much energy into addressing them.

"Americans focus on what they consider to be the most important matters; faith maturity is not one of them. The dominant spiritual change that we have seen -- Americans becoming less engaged in matters of faith -- helps to explain the surging secularization of our culture," Barna added.

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[01/03/2008]

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