Sense of Well-Being Greater Among Youngsters Who Pray

A report published earlier this week has found a link between the degree of spirituality among young people and faith in God.

According to the report, conducted by the Commission on Urban Life and Faith, the Children’s Society and the University of Wales, Bangor, 43 per cent of the 30,000 young people surveyed in England and Wales said they believe in God.

The report also showed a direct link between praying and young peoples’ sense of well-being, with almost three quarters of those who pray daily agreeing they had a sense of purpose. Eight of every 10 young people with a sense of purpose also agreed that life was worth living.

This relatively high sense of well-being among those who pray daily was in stark comparison to the 48 per cent who said they never pray. Over 50 per cent of young people without a sense of purpose considered committing suicide.

The findings of the report reveal the enormous impact spirituality has in fostering a sense of purpose among young people and their positive engagement with issues like their own self-perception, their communities, ethnic diversity, and concern for global issues like Third World poverty.

The Revd Nick Lear, mission adviser for the Baptist Union of Great Britain with special responsibility for young people, was not surprised that spiritually engaged youths were more confident of their purpose: "Such young people will be consciously allowing their spirituality to pervade all aspects of their lives in a positive way," he said.

Mr Lear urged for greater commitment to the church from young people, complaining that not enough of the 43 per cent who claim to believe in God actually recognise the significance of attending to church: "I think our main problem is that young people no longer see a necessary link between a belief in God and going to church. Indeed, many see it as irrelevant to their lives."

He praised those churches, meanwhile, that have successfully provided a space specially for young people within their centres and activities roster, saying, "From this, they can discover the relevance of church to a belief in God and an active faith."

He also called for more tolerance from adult church members with regard young people’s free time pursuits, adding, "Such churches have to be prepared to allow young people to express their spirituality and develop it in ways that may not be to many adults’ taste."

The report went on to criticise the lack of a spiritual component in the Government’s key Every Child Matters agenda, as well as making numerous other recommendations to the Government.

The report also wants to see more support from the Government and faith groups for parents with regard the life-long obligations that parents have to their children, regardless of whether those parents remain together in life or not. Fifty per cent of young people questioned answered either "not sure" or "no" when asked if they found it helpful to talk about their problems with parents.

The issue of racism was also raised, with the report urging more anti-racist programmes to be introduced to schools and youth clubs after one in six said they felt there were too many black people living in Britain.

The report also supported a more positive portrayal of youths, claiming that the continued emphasis on negative aspects of youths and youth culture were detrimental to young people’s well-being.

The Reverend Baroness Richardson of Calow, Chairman of the Commission on Urban Life and Faith said, "Spirituality is too often taken for granted, but when it is absent, the results clearly show a negative mark on young people's well-being. We can learn a valuable lesson from this report, one which could protect our children and help them to flourish."

The Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester and Chair of The Children's Society's Board of Trustees said, "Life can be difficult for all young people wherever they live, but urban living makes finding a sense of purpose difficult for people to find. This is having is having detrimental knock-on effects in our local communities. This report offers spiritual resources as a means to explore how we can mend young people's relationships with themselves, their families and neighbours and with God."