This week, I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of seniors at the local senior center in my hometown. At the end of 2017, the center did a survey asking members what they would like to do in the coming year. The answers were interesting!
Many wanted to increase their spiritual life, read the Bible and learn more about their faith, and become kinder and more loving people.
Their responses mirror a study just released this week and reported by the Association of Religious Data Archives. (ARDA) The Longitudinal Study of Generations used data from 599 respondents, and released their results in the latest issue of the Journal of Population Ageing.
They reported that 1 in 5 baby boomers are increasing their faith as they get older. Many, who had abandoned their faith, were returning to the religious roots of their childhood. As they leave their 50’s and get into their 60’s they begin to desire the things that reflected the goals of the local seniors.
Why this change of heart?
The three main reasons cited were:
- Older Boomers seek solace following the loss of a spouse. Nearly 50 percent of the respondents reported an increase in faith after experience a loss.
- Finding meaning in life after retirement or the loss of a job. Living on Social Security and making ends meet on less income changes our perspective on wealth, social status, and possessions that the current culture tells us are the paths to happiness.
- A strong desire to pass along their religious beliefs to their grandchildren. One of the questions I receive every time I give a talk is the concern of older adults that their children have lost the faith. As a result, their grandchildren are never exposed to the life lessons we get from our religious development.
Other studies have found that prayer was directly associated with an increase in self-esteem, optimism, a reduction of anxiety, and personal satisfaction.
Researchers Merril Silverstein of Syracuse University and Vern Bengston of the University of Southern California who broke down the study, found that grandparents can have a positive influence on their grandchildren. They can have a strong effect on their grandchildren independent of their parents.
That is positive news considering the baby boomers might be the last generation with widespread exposure to a religious upbringing.
References:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-71544-5_19
http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/LNGGEN00.asp
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0898264316688116
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