We are often inundated these days with bad news. And those with families feel the negative influences of Hollywood, the media, the schools, and social media, which seem to join together to keep young people from walking on “the straight and narrow.”

But here’s good news. In June 2026, a new study reported in the Institute for Family Studies involving 60,000 people found that parents play the most important role in the lives of their children in terms of passing on the faith. This is very encouraging news. 

They note, “Research consistently shows that families are the single most important factor in whether children adopt and maintain faith into adulthood.” [emphasis theirs]

Who knew? The parents are the key: “Research confirms that the strongest predictor of how religious children become is how religious their parents were during their upbringing. Parents are the most important spiritual role models.”

The article extols the positive parents who actively work to pass the faith to their children, “Specifically: 

By modeling religion, they show their kids what it should look like. 

By making religion a family activity, they let their children practice it themselves and make it feel like a natural part of life. 

By talking about faith at home, they help their children understand religion........

© Townhall