How Does Religion Affect the Lives of Adolescents?

Around the world, matters of faith vary greatly, with no one thing sacred to everyone on earth. Because religion deals with ideas that transcend everyday experience, neither common sense nor any scientific discipline can verify or disprove religious doctrine. Religion is a matter of faith. Religion encourages people to look hopefully to a better world to come, minimizing the social problems of their world. A link exists between religious beliefs and societal benefit. But is there a link between religion and adolescent behavior, such as sex, delinquency, and the media's effect on adolescents? Several decades of social scientific studies have shown that religion is often a factor in the lives of American adolescents, influencing their attitudes and behaviors in ways that are commonly viewed as positive and constructive (Smith, 2003).

Emile Durkheim (1965) contended that, in religious life, people celebrate the awesome power of their own society. Karl Marx (1964) claimed that religion served ruling elites by legitimizing the status quo and diverting people's attention from the social inequities of society. Peter Berger (1967) viewed religion as a social construction, placing everyday life under a "sacred canopy" of meaning. These sociologists agree that religion has a major importance for the operation of society.