Transmisión intergeneracional de la fe en Chile

Contemporary research has identified significant transformations in the ways faith is experienced and transmitted within changing sociocultural contexts. Although the family remains an important setting for religious socialization, processes such as the individualization of beliefs and the diversification of formative agents have modified traditional patterns of intergenerational transmission. In this context, the present study examines how Catholic faith is transmitted and reinterpreted across three generations in Chile. The research adopts a qualitative comparative approach based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development. Responses from 36 participants —older adults, middle-aged adults, and adolescents— were collected through an open-ended questionnaire and analyzed using coding procedures inspired by grounded theory. The findings indicate that the transmission of faith does not disappear across generations but rather undergoes a process of reconfiguration. While older adults tend to display a more structured and community-oriented religiosity, younger generations show more selective and personalized forms of spirituality. These findings suggest that intergenerational faith transmission constitutes a dynamic process of cultural reinterpretation in which the family remains relevant while sharing its influence with educational institutions, peer groups, and personal spiritual experiences.