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Smith Studies the Spiritual Formation of Youth
Parents with children approaching adolescence often dread teenage rebellion--especially the sort that results in the rejection of family religious beliefs and values
Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, begins to dispel their fears in his award-winning book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, co-authored by Melinda Lundquist Denton.
Soul Searching relates the findings of Smith's National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) and shows that American teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents than commonly thought. It also demonstrates that greater teenage religious involvement is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes.
In 2000, Smith began the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill to take a closer look at the interplay of spirituality, cultural influences, and family in the formation of teenagers. In Fall 2006, Smith joined the faculty of the University of Notre Dame.
“It struck me as an under-studied area of great importance,” says Smith. “It is something that could be really valuable to many groups in society and is something personally useful for me to learn more about as my own kids reach adolescence."
In the study, Smith developed a detailed methodology to conduct objective research on America’s adolescent spiritual beliefs.
“We used a combination of national telephone survey and in-depth interviews with teenagers all around the country,” says Smith. “We are also tracking the same youth respondents longitudinally over the years as they grow up, to see what changes happen in their lives developmentally as they move through the teenager years and into emerging adulthood.”
In 2006, Smith also became the director of the Notre Dame Center for the Study of Religion and Society. Directing the Center gives him the opportunity to continue the NSYR with University support.
The Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Smith a $1.1 million grant to fund the NSYR's third wave of data collection.
“One of the things that attracted me to Notre Dame in the first place is its genuine institutional commitment to the study of religion,” says Smith. “That is rather uncommon in higher education. The university has provided important resources for carrying on my NSYR project, for hosting conferences, and much more.”
Smith also looks forward to including Notre Dame graduate students in his research.
"Now that the project is moving to Notre Dame, I fully expect more Irish to get involved," he says. "It is a huge study with a lot of roles to play. I am already teaching a graduate workshop on the NSYR to help introduce sociology grads to the project, its methods, data, and opportunities for analysis. Of course, one of the best ways to learn sociological research as a grad is to be directly involved in an actual, ongoing research project like this. There is no substitute for such hands-on involvement."
With the support of the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Smith will also host the Young Scholars in the Sociology of Religion in May 2007. The event, to be held on Notre Dame's campus, will bring together 35 top young scholars from across the United States, including some from Notre Dame, to discuss themes and current trends in the field.
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Center for the Study of Religion and Society
Department of Sociology
This piece was contributed by Jane Marie Russell, an intern in the College of Arts and Letters Office of Web Communications and Support. Russell is a senior Political Science major with minors in Latin American Studies and Asian Studies.