The Effect of Religious‐Based Mentoring on Educational Attainment: More than Just a Spiritual High?

Keywords

adolescence, educational attainment, informal mentoring

Abstract

Although research has found a positive relationship between various forms of adolescent religious involvement and educational outcomes, little research has examined connections to educational attainment. Using a nationally representative sample of youth (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health—Add Health), we examine the extent to which adolescent religiosity facilitates educational attainment (i.e., high school completion and college enrollment) and whether informal mentorships formed during adolescence with religious and nonreligious adults can help explain the link between adolescent religious involvement and educational attainment. The findings confirm that, like academic outcomes, religious youth are more likely to complete high school and enroll in college even when controlling for other individual and interpersonal factors that affect educational attainment. Furthermore, informal mentorships, particularly those with adults who have official religious positions (e.g., priest, minister, rabbi) play an important role in college enrollment.

Original Publication Citation

Erickson, Lance D. and James W. Phillips. (2012). “The Effect of Religious-Based Mentoring on Educational Attainment: More than Just a Spiritual High?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(3):568-587

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2014-09-04

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5572

Publisher

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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