Do people lose their faith in God in their teens because of rebellion?

Question

I would like to know other influences that make teenagers chose another path. Good topic for a research paper.

Answer 1

There is a lot of truth to the teen rebellion idea. But there are as many other factors as there are teenagers. Peer presure being probably #2 on the list. #3 probably being the mass entertainment industry which is perty much anti God. And on and on.. overly strict church environment is an other...And the old welll used one... " they are hypocrits" bedause teens see those who profess doing things precieved as going against their own teaching... The public schools and the related scocial services within the education system are generaly anti God and have a big influence.. not just against "religion" but against family values as well... A very long list that keeps getting longer.... And I do not have any answers for solving the problem... dose any one?

Answer 2

I read a new article the other day that claimed research had shown that true spirituality did not develop until the age of about 13 or 14. In other words children may say they believe in God but they don't really fully understand the ramifications of Heaven, Hell, Evil, Good, God, etc until they are in their early teens.

So logically it would be around this time when children started heading towards adulthood that they would realize that religion was just Santa for grownups or that it was something they firmly believed in.

Rebellion is part of the equation too. Teens do start to question things they have been taught, rules they have been given, and they begin to find their own path. As they hit their teens they become mature enough to actually question the dogma that they have been fed their entire life and evaluate what may be true or false sounding. While children tend to believe a lot of what adults say, teens are beginning to evaluate what adults say and determine if they believe the story or not. Intelligent teens are liable to evaluate the nonsense in the Bible (or other religious text) and determine that there is no real proof for what they have been told to believe. The gullible or less intelligent will simply continue their behavior into adulthood because they lack the mental capacity to logically reason out the truth.

Answer 3

Sometimes people accept the Lord as their savior before they are mature enough to understand what they are committing to, and when they get older, they start learning new things about themselves and their body, and act upon it. Even people of long ago became a rebellious group. I have known some though that have remained faithful, throughout their teen years, and I have seen a growth of teens accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior. Each person is different, and have to go through their own, before they can accept Christ, if they even do. It is their choice, and a decision they will have to live with.

Answer 4

Teenagers tend to rebel against whatever their parents or community does or believes. It's not unique and has been going on since teens were invented.

I do not consider teens to be atheists or believers because I do not believe they have sufficient knowledge or experience to make that decision.

There are the exceptional few, but most teens like to exercise their independence and would claim to be Satan worshipers if they believed it would gain them attention and/or acceptance with a group to which they wanted to belong.

Rebellion is the motivation; achieving maturity (adulthood) is the goal.

Answer 5

my son (now 20) came to me one day and said: mom, I thought about it and I just don't know, so for now I consider myself an atheist.

I applauded his willingness to think - and to admit he might not know everything (smile). I don't envy teens. There was a time when every child knew what job they would have, where they would live, what their future would be like. Now things aren't so pat and I think that uncertainty leads to a lot of conflict spiritually.

Kids grow up with the religion of their family (for the most part) but may find the answers there wanting when they look at personal realities. The pressure to grow up quickly, be physical with a partner, etc. all play into this. I think they eventually choose something that makes them feel as if somehow they have a modicome of control over their lives when everyone else is trying to take that control away

Answer 6

I didn't lose my faith.. I never had it to begin with. Yes my mother raised me a Baptist and no I never believed the junk coming out of it. I went to church, sunday school and extra study classes. I kept frustrating the teachers because I'd ask questions they could not answer and told them "because god wants it that way" was not an acceptable answer.

I actually was never a rebellious teen, I never smoked, drank or partied. I got good grades and was raised to be independent. I merely exerted my independence.

Answer 7

I chose another path because religion simply doesn't appeal to me. In fact I think we should totally abolish it and start all over with out a god. He's caused to many problems already. I don't know anyone who dones't believe in God because they're stupidly rebelling against they're parents though. Most of them have simply lost faith in anything good happening in their lives (See: Emo) So they don't want religion, they don't see the point.

Answer 8

I am 15 now and started not believing in god at 9/11. I mean where the F&*% was he then. I had always prayed to him. If he was just 'testing us' then maybe we should tell him we dont want to be his damn lab rats. Anyways I started llearning more about history and how religion is only used as a means of filling the stacks and scaring people into your control...hopefully, one day, people will realize how ridiculous that stuff is and quit ramming themselves into buildings and killing jews, but i doubt it after hearing their is a certain trait in people that keeps them from having the ability of deep thinking to consider their beliefs.

Answer 9

i didn't lose my faith due to rebellion. i did the church thing and the Sunday school thing with my parents. i joined the church with my wife. but I've simply realized over the years that although i think Jesus and God and religion are a nice idea, it's not something i believe in. it's not something i ever really believed in. so when i decided to stop going, it wasn't rebellion at all, it was a simple realization that i had never really believed anyway. plus i've dealt with one too many hypocrites at the church.

Answer 10

I'm sure it has no correlation to the fact that in those years the brain is developing a new method of thinking, a method that lasts throughout adulthood. The method of thinking for yourself, rather than as you are told. I'm pretty sure it is called cognitive thinking, and those teenagers and adults who do not progress to that level of thinking never attain an IQ of higher than 70, which makes them mentally retarded.