Somebody suggested in this forum that only 30% of the children of atheists remain atheists, and that 70% revert to various religions. This claim came without any attribution, so I did a little digging. It appears in a discussion the Quora website (https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-for-children-of-atheists-to-convert...), where it is properly attributed to Pew Research (http://www.pewforum.org/data/).
The 30% figure is based on research carried out in 2008 and applies only the United States.
A number of factors need to be taken into account when we consider this figure.
First, unlike Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists do not generally pressure their children to adopt or maintain a particular religious stance.
Second, the figure applies only the United States. Totally different results are likely from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Australasia, Japan, etc.
Third, there is no proof that atheist children who stop being atheists become Christians, etc. A significant number of people put "joke" religions, such as Jedism and Pastafarianism, on census forms these days. They would be counted as "non-atheist."
Fourth, even the children of atheists in the US are constantly bombarded with Christian propaganda at school, on TV, on money, and from their friends (and friends' parents). The children of Christians are not bombarded with atheist propaganda.
My wife and I have raised two children as atheists, and our children still share that view, although we never imposed it on them. In fact, we encouraged them to learn about religions and make their own minds up.
What do others think?
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