Want Your Children to Attend Church as Adults? Do This…

Published: June 15, 2026

edwin-andrade-6liebVeAfrY-unsplash — Photo from Edwin Andrade via Unsplash

By Michaela Gordoni

A recent study by the Institute for Family Studies and Communio found that a child’s home environment has the greatest influence on whether they attend church as adults.

Children whose parents attend church weekly are more than twice as likely to attend church regularly as adults, the study found.

Researchers found that 26% of adults whose parents attended church every week continued to attend into their 30s and 40s, whereas only 12% of adults whose parents did not attend church weekly attended, Crosswalk reported.

“[P]arents play the single most important role in passing on faith to the next generation,” the researchers said.

When parents considered religion “very important in their lives,” nearly two-thirds of their children were likely to believe the same as adults.

Families’ spiritual practices like prayer before meals was also associated with higher levels of religious commitment as adults.

“The reality is the married home is the most impactful small group,” Communio founder and CEO J.P. De Gance said. “When parents are engaged in the discipleship of their children, this is where faith most often takes deep root. This report reinforces important biblical truths and provides some great actionable steps for both parents and pastors to restore Christian faith in their homes and across society.”

The Institute for Family Studies and Communioʼs study suggests the most influential ministry is at the family dinner table, bedtime prayers, and the everyday witness of a home centered on Christ.https://t.co/9cwrtiN2d4

— Catholic World Report (@cworldreport) June 9, 2026

Conversations about faith between parents and their offspring can have multigenerational influences. Those who had such conversations with their parents were more likely to have similar conversations with their own children.

“Children who participate in these practices with their parents are more likely to go to church, say religion is very important to them, pray regularly, identify as Christian, and report belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ by the time they reach their mid-to-late 20s,” the report said.

“Our study shows that parents are the most important figures for their children’s spiritual formation,” emphasized Jesse Smith, an assistant professor at The Ohio State University and the report’s co-author. “They’re the key role models, teachers, and tone-setters for giving kids the foundation in faith they’ll take with them into adulthood.”

The study also found that children who had two married parents were more likely to retain their faith in adulthood, which was also influenced by the quality and stability of their relationships with their parents, Fox News Digital reported.

Adults who said they have a “very good” relationship with both parents as a child were the most likely to remain religious as adults. They were significantly more likely to attend church every week, pray daily, read religious texts and place a high importance on religion and belief in God.

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