The Worldview of Today's Parents

We know that the greatest influence in a child's life is his or her parents.

No other conceivable causal influence...comes remotely close to matching the influence of parents on the religious faith and practices of youth. Parents just dominate. Christian Smith, Yale University

As we acknowledge this, we need to take a look at the worldview parents are passing on to their children.

Recent research by Arizona Christian University found that less than 5% of American parents who claim to be Christian possess a biblical worldview. The study also found that only 2% of all parents of pre-teens in the United States possess a biblical worldview.

The typical American parent is either fully unaware that there is a worldview development process, or they are aware that their child is developing a worldview, but they do not take responsibility for a role in the process. Or they are aware the child’s worldview is being developed, but choose or allow outsiders to accomplish that duty on the parent’s behalf. George Barna

Wow. That is some startling news. Plain and simple - the vast majority of parents (including Christian parents) are not passing on a Biblical worldview to their children. It's hard to pass along something that you haven't even clarified for yourself.

And the younger the parent, the less they follow a Christian worldview. This is especially true with Millennial parents. According to recent findings from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, only 2% of Millennial parents are passing on a Christian worldview.