Determinants of Church Involvement of Young Adults Who Grew up in Presbyterian Churches

An interview study of 500 young adults from 33 to 42 years old who grew up in Presbyterian churches provided data for testing the importance of specific determinants of church involvement. We posited a general theory of plausibility structures. We found influence of early religious socialization to be weak. The influence of cultural broadening during the college-age years was also weak, except that it liberalized beliefs. The strongest determinant of church involvement today was religious beliefs: Persons with conservative beliefs are more committed. Second strongest was recent adult experiences, especially regarding family. We propose here a two-step model, with belief formation most important and recent family experiences second most important