Associations of Childhood Experiences With Adulthood Religious and Relational Outcomes Among Protestants and Catholics in the United States

ABSTRACT In a United States sample of 32 Protestant and Catholic congregations ( N = 16,548), we evaluated associations between seven childhood religious and family experiences (e.g., conversations with parents about faith, childhood religious service attendance [RSA]) and five religious and relational outcomes in adulthood (e.g., RSA, conversations with one's own children about faith). We used multilevel models that incorporated childhood predictors simultaneously, with each model examining one outcome at a time. Better childhood family experiences and more frequent religious engagement were generally associated with greater religious participation in adulthood. Having frequent conversations about faith with one's parents in childhood showed the strongest associations with adulthood outcomes (e.g., more frequent RSA, faith transmission to one's own children, forgivingness), but all childhood factors were associated with at least one adulthood outcome. These findings highlight the potentially lasting and complex role of childhood experiences in shaping subsequent religious and relational outcomes in adulthood.