Religious Socialization and Moral Development: How Similar? How Different?

Abstract Among Vern Bengtson’s contributions to research on aging, religion, and the family was the finding of strong patterns of intergenerational religious socialization within families. Professor Bengtson and colleagues published at least one book and a dozen journal articles documenting the strong evidence of intergenerational religious socialization, although they also documented specific variations of this general pattern. More recently, social scientists in the culture and cognition tradition have focused on moral development. Most of this research is based on studies of adolescents and emerging adults and concludes that families influence morality at these life stages, but that the effects of peers are even stronger. Some of this research explicitly links morality to religion; most does not. This paper compares research on religious socialization and morality, focusing on similarities and differences in findings, the potential of each tradition to inform and advance the other, and how that can be accomplished. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group.


THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF FRIENDSHIP Andy Achenbaum, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas, United States
It was the spiritual dimensions of my friendship with Vern Bengtson that I treasure most. Vern was always willing to discuss the dark sides of himself and to listen to my spiritual pain. His empowering way of advancing the meanings of aging were a spiritual gift. This presentation will address the value of spiritual friendship in human aging. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group.

RELIGION AND AGING IN A CONTEXT OF SECULARIZATION Ellen Idler, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Religion and aging has been a persistent topic of interest to gerontologists, notably Vern Bengtson over his long career.
It is increasingly obvious that this research has taken place against a decades-long backdrop of declining religious attendance, with each successive cohort showing lower levels of participation. Data come from the Health and Retirement Study, a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized US population (N=20,091), ages 24-107. We examined the patterns of religious involvement during the period 2004-2014 stratified by five age groups, 24-49, 50-64, 65-74, 75-89, 90+. Attending religious services has an age-graded pattern; each older cohort has a higher level of religiosity than the one following it, with the exception of those 90. Patterns for other measures of religious involvement are less dramatic but similar in direction. Lower levels of religious participation in younger cohorts imply a smaller proportion for whom these protective social ties are available. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group. The development of religiosity in later life has its origins in earlier phases of the life course, yet few studies have investigated the contribution of early forms of religious exposure to religious beliefs and behaviors in old age. This investigation uses multigenerational data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations taken from 385 baby-boom children age 16-26 and their parents, linked to religious orientations of these children in midlife and old age. Relying on the "chains of risk" perspective, we found that parental religious intensity in 1971 strengthened their children's behavioral and cognitive religiosity in later life through their indirect effects on children's early and midlife religiosity. Our results demonstrate both intergenerational and life course forms of stability in religious belief and practice. Evidence suggests that parental influence creates religious momentum in their children that carries from adolescence/young adulthood through the unfolding of human lives into old age. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group.

RELIGIOUS SOCIALIZATION AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT: HOW SIMILAR? HOW DIFFERENT? Linda George, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States
Among Vern Bengtson's contributions to research on aging, religion, and the family was the finding of strong patterns of intergenerational religious socialization within families. Professor Bengtson and colleagues published at least one book and a dozen journal articles documenting the strong evidence of intergenerational religious socialization, although they also documented specific variations of this general pattern. More recently, social scientists in the culture and cognition tradition have focused on moral development. Most of this research is based on studies of adolescents and emerging adults and concludes that families influence morality at these life stages, but that the effects of peers are even stronger. Some of this research explicitly links morality GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Innovation in Aging, 2020, Vol. 4, No. S1 to religion; most does not. This paper compares research on religious socialization and morality, focusing on similarities and differences in findings, the potential of each tradition to inform and advance the other, and how that can be accomplished. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group. Robert Taylor, and Linda Chatters, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States Social support networks are an integral component of an individual's life. This presentation investigates the complementary roles of family and church members as sources of informal social support among African Americans. The analysis utilizes the African American sub-sample of the National Survey of American Life. A pattern variable was constructed that describes four types of church and family networks: 1) received support from both family and church members, 2) received support from family members only, 3) received support from church members only, and 4) never received support from family nor church members. Overall the findings indicated 1) the majority of African Americans received support from both groups, 2) a small group of respondents were socially isolated in that they did not receive assistance from either family or church members, 3) for some African Americans who were estranged from their family members, church members were an alternative source of social support. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Religion, Spirituality and Aging Interest Group.

LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF BECOMING A FAMILY CAREGIVER: THE CAREGIVING TRANSITIONS STUDY Chair: David Roth Discussant: Steven Zarit
Taking on caregiving responsibilities for older adult family members with disabilities is often considered to be a highly stressful experience that may adversely affect the health of caregivers. However, the vast majority of studies in this area compare existing samples of caregivers with questionably matched non-caregiving controls. In this symposium, we will present findings for a population-based sample of persons who became family caregivers while participating in a longitudinal epidemiological study. Changes in health and well-being are compared between these caregivers and noncaregiving control participants who were matched on multiple demographic and pre-caregiving health history variables. All persons enrolled as caregivers were providing sustained and substantial caregiving assistance. Presentations will include 1) a descriptive overview of the screening, eligibility, and enrollment methods used to construct these unique, populationbased samples; 2) comparisons of within-person changes on measures of self-reported health and well-being for dementia and non-dementia caregivers; 3) changes in the caregivers' social networks, social engagement, and leisure time activities; 4) comparisons of longitudinal changes on circulating inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., IL-6, CRP, TNF alpha receptor 1) and cellular aging (telomere length); and 5) examinations of individual differences in caregiver outcomes using a stress process model. Becoming a family caregiver can be stressful, but the opportunity to help a loved one and the related feelings of purpose and deepening family connections may also promote resilience and enhance health. These questions are far from resolved, and rigorous, prospective, populationbased studies like the Caregiving Transitions Study promise to provide compelling new insights.