How Nonreligious Parents Approach the (Non)Religious Socialization of Their Children

Despite the rapid growth of nonreligious individuals in the United States, limited research has focused on how nonreligious parents approach the (non)religious socialization of their children. We employed a grounded theory approach to the analysis of in-depth interviews with 33 nonreligious couples (N = 66 parents), through which we identified five themes: (1) parents openly sharing their beliefs, (2) encouraging religious exploration, (3) emphasizing behaviors over beliefs, (4) concerns about religion, and (5) cultural and familial influences. By assessing the connections between the identified themes, we created a model that presents four distinct approaches to the (non)religious socialization of children that are based on how intentional nonreligious parents are in their efforts and how actively parents encourage religious exploration. Despite the differing approaches to (non)religious socialization, there was a strong consensus of the desired outcomes of these efforts. Implications for research and practice are offered.