Are Teens Able to Articulate a Biblical Understanding of Christianity?

Abstract

The following study uses previous research about the religious and spiritual lives of American adolescents and their beliefs about the Christian faith to survey teenagers at a mid-western, Christian high school. The survey is given to find out what our young people know to be true about Christianity and if they can accurately articulate their beliefs based on Scripture and reinforced in the Heidelberg Catechism. According to the research, the students surveyed are receiving the information they need to articulate a biblical definition of Christianity. They do, however, have their strengths and weaknesses. The weakest areas would be in the belief that "we are born with a sinful nature" and it is "our responsibility to share Christ with others". The students' strongest areas were that "the Bible is the inspired Word of God", "God is the Creator of the universe and of all things good" and "Jesus Christ was fully man and fully God while He lived on earth. He was crucified and arose from the dead three days later". Using this research as a baseline for where our adolescents are will help us as parents and teachers to re-examine what we are teaching and modeling. Where do we need to make improvements?