Dads don’t realize their faith influence, study of 60,000 Americans reveals
NEWS SOURCE: A. Larry Communications
ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 10, 2026 — Dads will receive a boost this Father’s Day after a new report revealed they have more influence over their children’s lifelong faith than many realized.
Of the men surveyed, just 17 percent felt they were responsible for how their kids learn about religion, compared to 39 percent of moms. Those who described their relationship with their dad as very good had a 58 per cent higher chance of attending church weekly and a 45% higher chance of praying daily.
Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations, a joint report by Communio and Institute for Family Studies, examines data from more than 60,000 Americans and reveals the reasons many leave faith behind when they enter adulthood.
The findings suggest that while fathers may be less likely to see themselves as the primary teachers of faith in the home, their presence, example and relationship with their children can have a lasting influence on whether faith is carried into adulthood.
According to the report, children who attended church weekly with both parents were significantly more likely to attend church weekly as adults than children who attended with only one parent. Similar patterns were found for prayer, belief in God, reading sacred texts and the importance of religion in everyday life.
“Many fathers assume that passing on faith is primarily the responsibility of churches, pastors or youth leaders,” said J.P. De Gance, founder and president of Communio.
“This report shows you cannot outsource discipleship. Children watch their fathers closely. But here’s the good news – as a dad, I don’t have to be a bible scholar, a pastor, or a theologian to make a difference. Cultivate a good relationship with your kids. Have simple conversations about faith. Offer prayers of gratitude with your children. Get to church regularly with your kids. Whenever possible, love the mother of their kids. When dads engage in these sorts of simple ways they help increase the odds that their children grow up to know and follow Jesus.”
The report also reveals that churches have a role to play, urging pastors to engage fathers more intentionally, noting that children’s religious foundations are stronger when dads are actively involved in the faith life of the family.
De Gance added: “Faith is rarely passed on through a single dramatic moment. More often it is transmitted through hundreds of ordinary interactions accumulated over many years. It is learned around dinner tables, during family prayers, on the drive to church and in the countless moments when children are deciding whether the faith they hear about is also visible in the lives of the people they trust most.”
The full report, Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations, is available here.
About Communio
Communio is a nonprofit ministry that trains and equips churches to share the Gospel through the renewal of healthy relationships, marriages and family. Learn more at communio.org.