The Childhood Roots of Our Adult Spiritual Habits

Where do our private spiritual habits come from? For many, practices like reading sacred texts or listening to religious literature are a deep source of comfort and guidance. To understand the origins of this habit, a massive global study asked over 200,000 people from 22 different countries about their lives.

“The simple act of attending religious services as a child is the strongest predictor of a person's private spiritual reading later in life.”

Researchers compared their current religious reading habits with their experiences back when they were around 12 years old. The findings were powerful. The single biggest predictor of reading sacred texts as an adult was attending religious services as a child. People who went to services at least once a week as kids were over two and a half times more likely to engage in religious reading as adults compared to those who never went.

Other childhood factors also played a role. Having a good relationship with one’s father and being in excellent health as a child were both linked to more religious reading later in life. More surprisingly, the study found that adversity could also point people toward scripture. Those who experienced abuse or felt like an outsider growing up were also more likely to read sacred texts as adults. This suggests that for some, religious texts may serve as a vital source of comfort, meaning, or belonging in the wake of trauma and isolation.

Interestingly, factors like a family’s financial status or parents' marital status didn't show a strong, consistent link across the globe. The story of our spiritual lives is written in childhood, shaped by our communities, our families, and even our deepest struggles.