Handing on Religious Values to Young Orthodox People in a Western, Secularised Society

[Extract] One of the critical issues facing Christian Churches today is that of maintaining the allegiance of youth, understood here to describe those in late adolescence, aged between approximately fifteen and twenty years of age. This is a critical time as individuals move beyond parental control and seek to establish their own identity (Kay & Francis, 1996). The persistence of religion largely depends on how successful one generation is in passing on its belief and practices to its offspring (Meyer, 1996). The importance of inter-generational transfer of religious beliefs and practices has been commented on in a variety of studies spanning numerous faith traditions (Bendroth, 2002; Goa, 1989; Keysar, Kosmin & Scheckner, 2000). Contemporary Western societies, however, present challenges to the transfer of beliefs and values for many so-called mainline religious groups, such as Catholic and established Protestant traditions. (Davie, 1994; Finke & Stark, 1992; Kelley & de Graaf, 1997). Orthodox Christians, whilst relative newcomers to Western societies, experience many of the challenges that face members of mainline Churches.