Being Religious Can Help Your Self-Esteem

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from The Washington Times, December 5, 2002, with a headline:“Religion Linked to Positive Outlook in Teenagers.”Teenagers who attend worship and rate religion as important have positive self images, are optimistic and enjoy school, a study released yesterday said.The survey of thousands of 12^th grade students found that optimism and confidence co-relate with exposure to religion as much as what success, race, wealth or self-esteem education in public schools.The more religious the kids are, based on its importance to them or their attending worship, the greater their positive outlook on life, said sociologist Chris Smith, of the University of North Carolina where the National Study of Youth and Religion is being conducted.They have more self-esteem and confidence, he said, the more religious they are the less they hate school.The project’s goal is to determine religion’s role in adolescent lives and identify effective practices.The survey found 31% of students attended religious services weekly and 30% said religion was important to them with some overlap of the two groups.Only 15% of 12^th graders said they never attended religious services.Meanwhile, every passive religious affiliation and some youth group activity were linked with optimistic outlooks.The project which, in an earlier survey, foundreligious youths avoid high risk behavior such as drug and alcohol use as part of a growing interest in the religious attitudes of adolescents and young adults.Some research suggests young people are spiritual but not religious while Mr. Smith said strong evidence also indicates that religious youths will stick with institutional religion, especially when they start their own families.Mr. Smith said the findings are not scientific proof that religion produces positive traits in youths but rather are a strong association of the two.The study should not be taken to have policy implications, Mr. Smith said, even though public schools are experimenting with self-esteem curriculums.

Tom:

Well, Dave, hey, we can get excited about this, see how religion is really affecting—now look, I’m sort of kidding but I’m not.We know that if somebody knows the Lord and is going to live, abide in His Word, do the things that He says to do, it has to have “positive” outcome.In other words you’re going to be pleasing the Lord and be effective, successful in the sense of being fruitful and productive in your life according to the Lord’s criteria.But can we get too excited about this?

Dave:

Tom, this article has given me enough fodder for several sermons.I’m going to preach a little bit about this.First of all, religion--positive self image, that’s the opposite of what the Bible says.It says, in lowliness esteem better than yourself, so if that’s what their religion has brought them to they’ve got the wrong religion, number one.Then you notice that there is some correlation—31% attend religious services; 30% said religion was important to them, some overlap of the two groups, so I guess some of the people that attend don’t think it’s important.In this whole thing is such an absurd mixed bag—well, it talks about religion does as well as the self-esteem education in schools—really!Well, they found out that the self-esteem education in schools doesn’t help at all.California has been pushing this, John Vasconcellos, the assemblyman.

Tom:

There’s a flop, an expensive flop.

Dave:

Right, and even some of the kids were saying, What’s the point? no matter what you do they praise you.And I remember, Tom, we were broadcasting from Oregon here, we had a major article in, what was it, The Oregonian?

Tom:

Right.

Dave:

And it said, California, you better talk about, instead of self-esteem, self-control, you’ve got this thing backwards and the psychological, you know I am no friend of psychology, but psychiatrists and psychologists have been working on this and they said our studies indicate the opposite.So, I’m not impressed… religion, doesn’t matter what religion? just so you are religious.And they say, I am spiritual but not religious.But wait a minute!I thought this was about religion.Tom, what is the point?So you get a better self image; let’s say you even did better in school, what about eternity?What is truth?What religion are you talking about?Oh, you feel good about yourself, you have a positive outlook on life.So, but when you come to die, where are you going?That’s the big question and this doesn’t even deal with it.

Tom:

Well Dave, let me, back into this. Some things that concern me about this, you know, I have five kids, some are early young adults but I still have some teen agers and so on and they have been exposed to the Christian schools, the home schooling and secular school, the whole gamut, but they are committed Christians and you can look at Christian youth and see the influence—this is why I am concerned—see the influence of this whole psychological idea; the self love, self esteem, see how it was brought into the church and the ill effects it has had on our kids.That’s what’s heartbreaking about this.And then some would read it and say, oh this is wonderful, you see, we’re going the right way, we’re doing the right thing.

Dave:

In fact, Tom, so-called religious kids, kids who attend church, I know plenty of them that turned out bad.Some of them turned away from the church even though they were there up even into their teenage years.So what is the point of this?The average, it’s more likely, yeah, but that doesn’t mean everyone.That’s no proof of the validity of what they are doing, okay?What is the question before us?Truth!There’s not a word about truth in this thing. It’s whether they feel good about themselves, whether they feel good about church, whether they feel good about school.If they are religious they tend to hate school less.What does that mean, hate school less?Come on!I’m sorry, Tom, the whole thing is a meaningless waste of time, this survey.What we need to get down to is, what is the truth?Jesus said, I am the truth, thy word is truth, and if you continue in my word you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.Now that’s something worth talking about rather than this survey.

Tom:

And, it comes back to what we have been encouraging…our kids.Let’s get them into God’s Word.Never mind some religious or psycho religious idea and let’s get them into the Word of God.Let’s abide in that.

Dave:

Amen.