Religious Parenting: Transmitting Faith and Values in Contemporary America

How parents approach the task of passing on religious faith and practice to their children
How do American parents pass their religion on to their children? At a time of overall decline of traditional religion and an increased interest in personal “spirituality,” Religious Parenting investigates the ways that parents transmit religious beliefs, values, and practices to their kids. We know that parents are the most important influence on their children’s religious lives, yet parents have been virtually ignored in previous work on religious socialization. Renowned religion scholar Christian Smith and his collaborators Bridget Ritz and Michael Rotolo explore American parents’ strategies, experiences, beliefs, and anxieties regarding religious transmission through hundreds of in-depth interviews that span religious traditions, social classes, and family types all around the country.
Throughout we hear the voices of evangelical, Catholic, Mormon, mainline and black Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist parents and discover that, despite massive diversity, American parents share a nearly identical approach to socializing their children religiously. For almost all, religion is important for the foundation it provides for becoming one’s best self on life’s difficult journey. Religion is primarily a resource for navigating the challenges of this life, not preparing for an afterlife. Parents view it as their job, not religious professionals’, to ground their children in life-enhancing religious values that provide resilience, morality, and a sense of purpose. Challenging longstanding sociological and anthropological assumptions about culture, the authors demonstrate that parents of highly dissimilar backgrounds share the same “cultural models” when passing on religion to their children.
Taking an extensive look into questions of religious practice and childrearing, Religious Parenting uncovers parents’ real-life challenges while breaking innovative theoretical ground.

Politics & Social Sciences

Smith, Christian

Ritz, Bridget

Rotolo, Michael

Social Sciences

Princeton University Press

Product Description 
How parents approach the task of passing on religious faith and practice to their childrenHow do American parents pass their religion on to their children? At a time of overall decline of traditional religion and an increased interest in personal “spirituality,” Religious Parenting investigates the ways that parents transmit religious beliefs, values, and practices to their kids. We know that parents are the most important influence on their children’s religious lives, yet parents have been virtually ignored in previous work on religious socialization. Renowned religion scholar Christian Smith and his collaborators Bridget Ritz and Michael Rotolo explore American parents’ strategies, experiences, beliefs, and anxieties regarding religious transmission through hundreds of in-depth interviews that span religious traditions, social classes, and family types all around the country.Throughout we hear the voices of evangelical, Catholic, Mormon, mainline and black Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist parents and discover that, despite massive diversity, American parents share a nearly identical approach to socializing their children religiously. For almost all, religion is important for the foundation it provides for becoming one’s best self on life’s difficult journey. Religion is primarily a resource for navigating the challenges of this life, not preparing for an afterlife. Parents view it as their job, not religious professionals’, to ground their children in life-enhancing religious values that provide resilience, morality, and a sense of purpose. Challenging longstanding sociological and anthropological assumptions about culture, the authors demonstrate that parents of highly dissimilar backgrounds share the same “cultural models” when passing on religion to their children.Taking an extensive look into questions of religious practice and childrearing, Religious Parenting uncovers parents’ real-life challenges while breaking innovative theoretical ground. 
 Review 
"A revealing picture." 
---Thomas E. Bergler, Christianity Today\n"[ 
Religious Parenting] is a solid contribution to the literature about religious socialization and offers a fruitful way to advance theory in close dialogue with empirically grounded research" ― 
American Journal of Sociology 
 Review 
"Christian Smith has been the leading contributor for more than a decade to the literature on religion among young adults. This rigorous, engaging book shows how parents think about their children’s religious upbringing and challenges social scientists to reconsider the importance of beliefs and values in their understandings of culture. It will interest congregations and religious communities, as well as social science and religious studies scholars." 
―Robert Wuthnow, author of The Left Behind: Decline and Rage in Small-Town America\n"Counter to wide perceptions about religious indoctrination, this striking work reveals American religious parents as valuing their children’s freedom and self-determination in relation to religion, while at the same time wanting their children to come to the same beliefs, values, and religious perspectives that they themselves hold. Religious Parenting is an important work in the study of family life and religion." 
―Anna Strhan, coeditor of The Bloomsbury Reader in Religion and Childhood 
 About the Author 
Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. His many books include 
Religion: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters (Princeton). 
Bridget Ritz and 
Michael Rotolo are doctoral students in the Department of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame.

The Life Of John Calvin

A concise biogpraphy of the life of the great Protestant reformer John Calvin. Calvin was without a doubt the single most influential theologian of the Protestant Reformation. This account of his life is told by his contemporary and dear friend Theodore Beza. Beza was a prominent figure in the reformation and continued as successor to Calvin in the work of the ministry. This bonus edition also includes a brief biography of Theodore Beza.

The Life of John Calvin

Religion & Spirituality

Beza, Theodore

Christian Books & Bibles

Great Christian Books

At The Back of The North Wind: A Child's Adventures with the Mysterious North Wind

MACDONALD, GEORGE

This practical textbook is "the most exhaustive single work in our language on the history of the interpretation of the Scriptures." So affirms Dr. Wilbur M. Smith, well-known Bible scholar. Milton S. Terry's book on 'Biblical Hermeneutics' (the science of interpretation) is conveniently divided into three main areas: Part I — Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics Part II — Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics Part III — History of Biblical Interpretation This ideal standard textbook abstains from dogmatism and adheres strictly to the method of scientific and conscientious inquiry. It ranks as a classic in its field.Adapted to meet the practical needs of most students studying the Word of God, Biblical Hermeneutics by Terry is a model text for interpreting the Bible.

Biblical Hermeneutics: A Treatise on the Interpretation of the Old and New Testament

Terry, Milton S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rotolo, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rotolo, Michael