How religious upbringings negatively affect adolescents
Word count: 1088
Religious upbringing plays a significant role in shaping adolescents’ cultural and social identity.
Across many religions worldwide, adolescents are exposed to shared beliefs, moral codes, and
expectations through family, community, and religious institutions. Adolescence is a critical period of
emotional and identity development, and during this time, the brain continues to develop the parts
responsible for making decisions and regulating emotions. Also, during adolescence, they are forming
moral and social emotions. and makingreligious influences especially potent and making it easy to accept
the values as norms since they were taught from such a young age. This can affect how they process
emotions and relate to others. Understanding this is important because it can affect emotional
development, guilt, shame, fear, and empathy. It’s also important for parents, educators, and mental
health professionals to help figure out better ways to support adolescents who come from religious
households, so they can more effectively help or teach them.
Religion functions as a socio-cultural system that transmits values through family expectations.
This suggests that when children are raised with the assumption that they should remain religious, fear of
religious punishment is a motivating factor that could cause them to stick with religion. For example,
some adolescents may avoid asking questions about religious practices because they fear disapproval or
non-acceptance within their religion. Being exposed to fear this early may influence how adolescents
make critical decisions and whether they are morally or ethically correct. Vaclavik (a licensed
psychologist and writer) says that Catholic children who have influential religious figures in their
lives are more likely to stay with Catholicism for the rest of their lives because of the influence
they received, partially due to the fear of what may happen if they leave. This helps structure
adolescents’ convictions and beliefs, and instills fear that leaving religion might have a negative
consequence. Furthermore, Gardner (the author of “Hands-on Religious Upbringings”) states that children
with hands-on religious upbringings are more likely to remain committed to their faith for life, possibly
due to the fear associated with leaving. This shows that children who are directly taught with a hands-on
approach are more likely to stick with religion when the hands-on approach starts from a young age. It
also shows that the feeling of fear is often instilled early in children and adolescents, before they get a
chance to decide what they think or want.
Many religious teachings emphasize moral absolutes and consequences for wrongdoing.
Adolescents may internalize guilt and shame when they feel they are failing to meet religious or family
expectations. Adolescents could experience moral guilt, coming from violating teachings, or social guilt,
coming from disappointing family or community expectations. Thomas (a researcher in counseling) states
that LGBTQ+ allyship is moderated by religious feelings of behaviors deemed sinful in their faith,
commonly due to the fear of the religious text (i.e., sinning in Christianity). Adolescents are still
emotionally developing and are sometimes not fully aware of or able to process their emotions of guilt
and shame, which can sometimes become overwhelming or internalized. Socio-cultural factors, such as
family pressure and moral standards, can strengthen these emotional responses, shaping how adolescents
experience and manage guilt and shame within their lives. Smith (a sociology professor) says that
emotions can often be dictated by religion and cites a study showing that people with religious
upbringings are more likely to have their emotions dictated by religion.
Religious teachings can emphasize a wide range of emotions, compassion, empathy, or care for
family or friends. Smith found that adolescents with a religious background are directly linked to the
development of moral foundations and values. However, sometimes religious communities stress
community loyalty, and adolescents may develop strong empathy for their peers within this group, but
then limit themselves to being stuck within the religious group. This shows that adolescents who are
raised religiously have an inside source affecting their emotional development and sense of empathy and
compassion. Adolescents with a religious background can develop a different sense of moral awareness
and complex emotions. Adolescents with a religious environment could have stronger emotions due to
their religion. Also, as previously stated, some emotions can be less present when religious communities
emphasize staying within one’s community, which may lower the worry about people outside of the
religion to which they are so committed. This shows that religious upbringings can support and restrict
emotions and their development, shaping how adolescents’ emotional identity depends on how they were
raised.
Adolescents are particularly vulnerable because they are still developing emotionally and
cognitively. At this stage, they may not yet fully understand or regulate their emotions, making them more
susceptible to internalizing religious expectations. Specifically, at this time, the adolescents are
developing the prefrontal cortex, which has a strong effect on decision making, making them very
sensitive to feel strong anxiety over the little things. Schneider's (co-director of the Alfred P. Sloan
Center) study says that Catholic adolescents are even more likely to have traits of altruistic participation.
Showing that there could be some benefit to religion in adolescents. However, the internalization of
negative emotions can sometimes lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or anxiety when they feel they are
failing to meet the standards set by their religious norms. Additionally, the strong need for belonging and
approval can increase the impact of family and community pressures, changing how adolescents adapt to
moral and social expectations. Since adolescents are still forming who they are, this pressure can have a
strong impact on their decisions and emotional development.
Understanding how religious upbringings affect emotional identity in adolescents is important, so
society can better address affected outcomes involving fear, guilt, and empathy in adolescents. Educators,
adults, and mental health professionals who are aware of a person's religious background would be able to
better fit their needs. By bringing attention to the socio-cultural influence of religious upbringings,
parents, educators, and mental health professionals will benefit from knowing the effects and improving
the aforementioned care, and can minimize the harm that can come from being unaware. By examining
how fear, guilt, shame, and empathy affect adolescents, it becomes clear that religion does shape
adolescents' emotions in very diverse ways. This awareness can not only improve the care that can be
provided, but it can also help lower the harm that can result from not considering these factors.
Ultimately, it comes down to the support that adolescents receive in their youth. If they start with religion,
then they are likely to continue with it and can have increased feelings of fear and anxiety.
Works cited
Gardner, Peter. “Hand on Religious Upbringing.” Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol. 38,
no. 1, Feb. 2004, pp. 121–28. EBSCOhost, [Link]
Killian, Thomas, et al. “The Relationship between Religious Identity and Ally Identity/Expression within
Affirming Contexts.” Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, vol. 51, no. 2,
Sept. 2024, pp. 81–97. EBSCOhost, [Link]
Schneider, Barbara, et al. “The Importance of Religion in Adolescents’ Lives.” Catholic Education: A
Journal of Inquiry & Practice, vol. 7, no. 3, Mar. 2004, pp. 366–88. EBSCOhost,
[Link]/linkprocessor/plink?id=034225da-8bcc-31e1-90e3-0246075cd94c
Smith, Jesse. “Linking Religious Upbringing to Young Adult Moral Formation.” Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), vol. 62, no. 3, Sept. 2023, pp. 481–99.
EBSCOhost, [Link]