A new study from Communio, in partnership with Harvard researchers, suggests that a child’s lifelong connection to faith begins in the home, with conversations with parents, whether it’s around the dinner table, doing chores or running errands. Our research on the importance of family dinners echoed similar sentiments about the value of conversations in the home – particularly around the dinner table. Family dinners benefit young people not through food, but through conversations that build resilience against peer pressure.
Researchers surveyed more than 16,000 churchgoing adults to identify which childhood experiences best predicted active Christian faith in adulthood. The strongest predictor was regular, open conversations about faith with parents, especially during childhood.
The study also found that churchgoers who at least weekly talk with their parents about faith were 2.5 times more likely to have regular conversations about faith with their own children. Those who had daily conversations had more than 7.5 times higher odds of having those same talks with their own children.
Beyond the importance of faith conversations in the home, fathers, in particular, are crucial to a child’s faith journey. According to the report, ‘churchgoing adults were more likely to attend church regularly in adulthood if they reported attending church with their own dad weekly or more frequently in childhood at age 12.’ Recognizing this can inspire fathers to participate actively, making them feel appreciated and motivated to lead and contribute to faith-filled conversations within the home.
Interestingly, the study found that a stronger relationship with one’s father was also linked to a lower likelihood of having open faith conversations with one’s own children. While the study couldn’t uncover the reason for this, other research highlights the critical role fathers play in a child’s faith formation. A four-decade longitudinal survey of 350 families and more than 3,000 individuals, published by Oxford University Press, concluded that closeness to fathers mattered more than closeness to mothers in transmitting faith across generations. Similarly, in Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism, Dr Paul Vitz, emeritus professor of psychology at New York University, argues that when children fail to form a healthy attachment to their father, they are more likely later in life to lose faith, turn to New Age spirituality, or embrace agnosticism or atheism.
The findings come amid Pew Research Centre data indicating that 28% of U.S. adults now identify as religiously unaffiliated — a trend driven by declining faith transmission between generations. Similar conclusions can be observed in New Zealand, where the religious landscape is becoming more diverse, with the main trend being towards irreligion or non-affiliation. This decline in both countries highlights why intentional faith conversations at home are not optional but essential.
Communio president JP De Gance states that the generational decline in faith is not accidental — it results from older generations not explicitly passing on the Gospel. Nonetheless, the study’s findings highlight opportunities for pastoral teaching moments within families — to incorporate faith-filled conversations into daily life at home. For Christian parents, this presents a chance to integrate faith discussions into everyday activities, whether in car rides to school or sports, running errands with the children, or doing chores as a family.
Faith is first formed in the home. Faith is passed on not in extraordinary moments, but in the ordinary rhythms of daily life. This biblical truth is set out in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” These verses are part of the Shema, a foundational declaration in the Old Testament that calls Israel to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might. These passages instruct Christians to keep God’s Word on their hearts continually and to impress them on their children by discussing them in everyday life. It is the blueprint for parents and intergenerational faith. The Bible emphasizes that parents have the primary responsibility of diligently teaching their children God’s truths. A great place to start is around the dinner table.
*Written by Family First writers*
Check out our work on the importance of dinner table conversations
