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    Christians are Happier

    Christians are happier than their secular neighbors.

    Date: February 14, 2020

    Many recent studies have evaluated whether Christians are happier than their secular neighbors and compared the... Read More »


    Work Ethic

    Homeschooling and Achievement Scores

    Date: February 13, 2020

    The effect of religious practice on work ethic has been a topic of investigation for many years  There has been much... Read More »


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    Date: February 9, 2020

    Christians benefit society because their religious beliefs inform their behavior  This favorable behavior means... Read More »


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    Date: February 8, 2020

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Homeschooling and Achievement Scores

Work Ethic

Posted in February 13, 2020 by David

Many children get their religious education from either a Christian school or through a church Sunday School.a

Christian School – Image by Christine Schmidt from Pixabay

The effect of religious practice on work ethic has been a topic of investigation for many years.  There has been much complaint concerning the “younger generation” concerning their reduced work ethic and tendency to be self-centered.  This complaint probably has been leveled at every generation by their parents and employers.

However, there is no good research to show that being involved in church activities promotes a good work ethic which positively impacts the ability to keep a job.  Just as positive values have a positive impact on math and reading scores through the effect that religious values have on homework, watching television, and reading, religious values help determine behavior outside of school.  These positive values including self-control and work ethic help to contribute to improved performance at school and on the job.

Locus of Control

Teenagers who are home schooled report feeling more close to their parents, even when provided with more discipline.

Image by Erik Lucatero from Pixabay

The “locus of control” is defined as the presence of established habits including discipline, self-control, and initiative.  The locus of this control mechanism is important in determining the ultimate success of an individual.  Sandra Hanson, Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America explains,

high internal locus of control refers to the belief that one’s action and efforts, rather than fate or luck

determines the ultimate success or failure of one’s efforts.  This belief in the internal local of control is linked to

the effort that students put forth and the importance they assign to working hard.

Religious practice helps to internalize a sense of internal locus of control – the sense that they bear significant responsibility for their ultimate success or failure in life.  Glen Elder, Professor of Sociology and Psychology at the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill concluded that

regular participation in church services and programs strengthened self-concepts of academic achievement, work habits, and discipline.

Mark Regnerus found that higher levels in church involvement produced stronger social bonds with family and is associated with

a level of social control and motivation toward education that leads to better math and reading skills.

Another study also demonstrates that the religious involvement of adolescents is positively associated with a better sense of control over their lives that is important in shaping their attitudes and behavior.  If teenagers feel like they have no control over their lives, their behavior and academic achievement tend to suffer.

Expectations

Christians do better with education by all measures, especially when enrolled in religious schools.

Image by TuendeBede from Pixabay

It seems self-evident that when adolescents have higher educational expectations for themselves, they will have improved achievements both in school as well as on the job.

Religious teenagers have been found to have increased academic expectations for themselves.  This expectation is especially strong in Vietnamese immigrants in whom frequent religious practices translate into teenagers placing greater importance on college, earning good grades, and avoiding substance abuse.

It turns out that just being in the presence of religious individuals can have a positive effect on academic performance.  Youth in schools where the majority are Jewish are 14 percent more likely to plan to attend college than in schools where Jewish students are in a minority.  This tendency is present when controlled for intelligence, the mother’s aspiration, occupation, and income are considered.  A similar effect is also present for Catholic identity with increased expectations for academic achievement.

Habits and Skills

Children do better in religious schools and being home schooled by religious parents and develop an improved work ethic than other educational opportunities, especially government schools.

Image by White77 from Pixabay

Children who develop the habit of attending school regularly, doing their homework without incessant prodding from their parents or teachers tend to have better school performance.  An analysis of inner-city children who escaped poverty notes,

Church-going invariably raises the amount of time a youth spends on productive activity (working, searching for work, traveling to work, school-going, housework, and reading).

The fact that regular participation in religious activity is associated with improved self-discipline and work habits.

Social skills are also improved in those who attend church regularly.  The Iowa longitudinal study shows that eighth-graders who participated regularly in church activities had improved social skills in the twelfth grade.

These studies all show that religious practice improves habits that are associated with increased chances for success in life.

Social Development

Religious children from religious homes have increased graduation rates, especially home schooled children.

Church attendance improves social skills.  Image by robtowne0 from Pixabay

Studies also show religious involvement is associated with improved social development.  The National Survey of Children’s Health showed that children who attended religious services every week had a mean Social Development Score of 50.7 while those who never attended service had a score of 48.4.  This was a very large study of the parents of 102,353 children and teenagers in 50 states and the District of Columbia.  The survey sample represents a population of nearly 49 million young people nationwide.

The study also found that when both parents frequently worship, their children develop improved social skills, greater interpersonal skills at school, and protection “against internalizing problem behaviors,” protection against loneliness and sadness, and protection from overactive and impulsive behaviors.

This study suggests a causal relationship between the church attendance of parents and children and the children’s social development.  Research indicates that the more parents and children attend school, the better social development and coping skills the children will have.

Children who attend church are much less likely to pose behavioral problems while in school.

Behavior

School children do better and have a better work ethic when they are involved with religious activities.

School Children – Image by klimkin from Pixabay

Behavioral problems among school children is a big problem in the United States.  Some states have responded to this behavioral problem by placing the responsibility on the teachers to try to instill discipline upon unruly students.  Placing responsibility upon teachers while limiting their disciplinary abilities seems inappropriate.  Misbehaving children can no longer be suspended from school in California for example.  Of course, this produces increased difficulty in controlling a classroom when children know they can misbehave with no significant consequences.

Unruly students recognize and take advantage of the inability of teachers to instill discipline in their classrooms.  High school students more frequently threaten their teachers with physical violence or assault teachers in the classroom often with little repercussions.

California should be happy to learn that religious attendance has a significant beneficial effect on children with behavioral risks.  Attendance has been shown to powerfully reduce socially deviant behavior while another found that religious activity is especially strong in reducing deviant behavior among high-risk youths compared to more affluent children.

Religious attendance has a significant effect on reducing behavioral risks.  Adolescents who attended weekly religious services were less likely to use drugs or alcohol, have delinquent behavior, get in trouble at school, or have poor grades in school as compared to their peers who did not go to church.  Church attendance

reinforces messages about working hard and staying out of trouble, orients [youth] toward a positive future, and builds a transferable skill-set of commitments and routines.

Stay in School

Graduation is more common with a better work ethic among those who attend church weekly.

Graduation – Image by White77 from Pixabay

Students who are involved in religious activities are much more likely to not be suspended or expelled from school.  The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health found that among students in 7th through 12th grade, 21 percent of those who attended church every week were expelled or suspended from school while 39 percent of those who never attended school were suspended or expelled.  This difference was statistically significant.

This means that the chance of deviant behavior leading to discharge from school was nearly twice as great among never church attended compared to those who attend church weekly.

Summary

This research once again shows that a good work ethic exemplified by improved behavior in school is much more common in children who attend school weekly when compared to their peers.

Children are more likely to graduate from school and do better on the job when religion is important to them.  Of course, this provides a significant benefit to society in that children with a good work ethic who have productive behavior are less likely to be involved in deviant behavior.

Recently, the whole question as to whether public tax dollars should be allowed to go to vouchers for religious schools is to be decided by the Supreme Court.  This is certainly a contentious issue as secular parents do not wish to see their educational tax money spend on religious education for their neighbors’ children.

The benefit to society of having children with good behavior assuming jobs and paying taxes should also be considered when these public policies are being made.


related posts

Christians Benefit Society

Christians benefit all of society.

Date: February 9, 2020

Christians benefit society because their religious beliefs inform their behavior.  This favorable behavior means Christians save society considerable money when compared to their secular counterparts. We will go over the areas where Christian behavior benefits society and attempt to derive a rough estimate of cash savings. Crime A huge literature… Read More »

Christian Children

Children in conservative Protestant familiar have increased academic achievement compared to their secular counterparts in government schools.

Date: February 8, 2020

Christian children do better in life than do their secular counterparts on many levels.  These differences begin at birth with Christian and Jewish mothers more likely to nurse their children than secular parents. As the children grow up, Christian parents do a better job of raising their children as demonstrated… Read More »

Christians and Success

Christians have a greater chance of success - however that may be defined.

Date: February 5, 2020

There is a causal association between Christians and success as defined by multiple measures.  For example, there is a causal significant association between Christianity and economic achievement. Christians are better educated, graduate more frequently from high school and college, get into less legal trouble as a youth, are less depressed… Read More »

Christians and the Law

Christians commit less crime, have less juvenile delinquency, and have less jail time than non-Christians.

Date: February 4, 2020

Many believe there is no difference in the association between Christians and the law and secular citizens.  Criminology is devoted to determining why people do bad things – why they become criminals. Society is interested in inhibiting criminal behavior while promoting social behavior.  Society is also interested in trying to… Read More »

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