Can you inherit faith?

We greatly appreciate the blessing of being brought up in a Christian home, but does this guarantee children from Christian families will all be converted?

A recent study by Pew Research Center conducted across the world showed that Christianity and Buddhism don’t have a very high success rate of passing on faith through the generations.

In the UK there is a significant proportion of people who identify as non-religious who were raised as Christians, suggesting a departure from their parents' faith. This is part of a trend of “disaffiliation” or “religious switching” going on across the world where Christianity is definitely a significant “loser”, experiencing an apparent decline.

This would seem to correlate with the long-term trend seen in the British Social Attitudes and Census data, showing a steady increase in the non-religious population over recent decades to the point where those who belong to no religion at all outnumber Christians. You might think this shift might be primarily because of a failure of Christian parents to pass on their faith to their children.

A rejection of affiliation or of faith?

From a Christian perspective, faith is not a birthright. We believe it's a matter of divine choice. We're also navigating a period in the west where Christianity is increasingly marginalised.

Additionally, there are complex issues to do with the association of religion with culture and identity which is more obvious in some other world religions whose numbers are “holding up”.

However, I suggest that these statistics primarily reflect a decline in nominal religious affiliation, rather than a rejection of faith. Many of the children who are apparently rejecting their faith are actually rejecting the non-faith of their nominally Christian parents.

There are still great benefits and cause for humble optimism and diligent work when it comes to teaching the next generation. My own experience is that in evangelical churches we are knowing a significant proportion of children from Christian families becoming Christians themselves.

Genuine, lived faith in parents, reinforced by a supportive church community, often positively influences children. When they witness authentic trust in Christ, despite our imperfections, they are more likely to embrace that faith for themselves. Where there is heartfelt dependence on God despite hardship and failure and a living out of what we say we believe, even with all our failures, our children often will see that and come to put their faith in our Saviour.

Conversely, if our faith is just about going through the motions, and doesn't really affect how we live, it probably won't convince our kids to believe.

Conversion is ultimately God's work. We need not succumb to guilt if they don't immediately embrace Christianity. Some may indeed stray or become disillusioned. But we should keep witnessing to and praying for our kids, trusting that in God’s good timing He might do a work of grace in their hearts.