The effect of family religious socialization on adult religiosity in the context of secular transition in five Western countries

This article investigates how family religious socialization during childhood influences adult religiosity within the context of secular transition. Using new cross-national survey data from the Transmission of Religion Across Generations survey, it examines whether key dimensions of family religious socialization such as religious tradition, frequency of prayer and service attendance, and general family attitude toward religion predict the likelihood of belonging to the secular transition categories: religious, fuzzy fidelity, or secular. Results showed that while family religious socialization does have a positive effect on adult religiosity, this effect varies in strength across countries and is generally moderate. In more secularized contexts (Canada, Finland, and Germany), childhood religious socialization more often leads to fuzzy fidelity. In Italy, however, socialization remains more effective. These findings offer a more nuanced understanding of how religious decline occurs in context of secular transition and what role family religious socialization plays in (non)transmission of religion.