Passing on religion seems increasingly difficult today, as many young people in both Europe in America leave their parents’ tradition behind. What does successful transmission look like? This book explores and problematizes that question, drawing on original research and thoughtful analysis by top international scholars. We learn that even in the age of the internet, there are still real social, political, and institutional differences between cultures, and we come to see how the story of religious transmission reflects that. We also learn how the very meaning of “religion” has changed over time, which raises interesting questions about the ways we define and measure who is and isn’t religious. Anyone curious about the future of religion should read this book!

Christel Manning, Sacred Heart University, author of Losing our Religion: How Unaffiliated Parents are Raising their Children

Reporting on research that is methodologically sophisticated and innovative, this book breaks new ground in the study of the transmission of religion and nonreligion within families in 6 countries. Multinational and interdisciplinary in scope, the volume contributes new insights into the profound religious change in the of the past 50 years.

Lori Beaman, University of Ottawa

Whether religion persists or declines is rarely a matter of adults deciding that they do or don’t want to go to church. It is a matter of children choosing whether or not to follow in their parents’ footsteps. The transmission of religious identity, belief and practice from one generation to the next is therefore the single most important topic in the study of religious change, and this book reports on two of the most significant investigations of this issue. It will be required reading for anyone trying to understand the erosion of religious involvement in contemporary Western societies.

David Voas, University College London