Parental influence on emerging adult religiosity and religious decision-making

• Main Author: Chia, Izabella Shiyu
• Other Authors: Lim Khek Gee, Francis
• Format: Thesis-Master by Research
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/164815
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

While emerging adults (EAs) commonly re-evaluate familial worldviews and religious beliefs and choose to form their own, some seem content to adopt their parents’ beliefs. This thesis extends research on ongoing parental influence on religiosity beyond childhood and adolescence, into emerging adulthood. It examines whether parent-child relationships and levels of social and religious capital differ between EAs who remain in their religion of birth and those who choose to disaffiliate. This study employs the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1989) and semi-structured interviews with 30 EAs (15 affiliated and 15 disaffiliated) who grew up in the Methodist Church in Singapore. Findings showed that affiliated EAs generally have better parental relationships than disaffiliated EAs, though both groups are closer to their mothers than their fathers. Affiliated participants’ parents were also more likely to prioritise family faith activities outside the home, thus increasing their children’s opportunities to gain social and religious capital. Furthermore, highly religious parents were found to influence their EA children positively only if their actions aligned with their religious beliefs. Additionally, parents were not cited as primary motivators for disaffiliation – instead, conflicting personal values, negative experiences with the religious community, and personal spiritual experiences were more pertinent. In all, this thesis argues that parent-child relationships and ongoing parental influence in religious families can impact EA religious decision-making.