Age

• Voas and Crocket (2005)

  • The ageing effect - evidence from the kendal project. more interested in spirituality as we get older (nearer to death), worried about the after life
  • The generational effect - as society becomes more secular, each generation is less religious than the one before. older people grew up in a time when religion was popular
• Davie


  Older people have always been more religious than younger people
• Voas (2005)


  If a child has two religious parents - 50% chance they will be religious themselves.

  If a child has one religious parent - 25% chance they will be religious themselves.

  If a child doesn't have religious parents, unlikely they will be religous themselves
• Dawson (2003)


  The membership of most NRMs is disproportionately younf and relative to the population, middle aged and old are underrepresentated
• Eileen Barker (1984)


  Unification church - Moonies - half of membership was aged between 21-26 years old
• Rochford (1985)


  Half of membership of Krishna Consciousness movement were aged between 20-25 years old
• Dawson


  Representative of movements that are demanding of their members. Balancing family and religious life is too difficult so middle aged people leave.
• Levine (2003)


  NRMs appeal to a specific type of young people, who yearns for self independence from smothering family life but who lacks self esteem and confidence to break free. NRMs offer a quick fix, providing supportive communities