No Father, No Faith

News: Commentary
by Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  June 28, 2019   

Multiple studies show faith is passed on to children by their fathers

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All men are called to be spiritual fathers, and multiple studies show that it's fathers who pass on the Faith to their children.

Research shows that fathers influence the faith of their children far more than mothers do. A multi-decade study by Vern Bengston, author of Families and Faith: How Religion Is Passed Down Across Generations, showed that 56% of kids who were close to their fathers practiced the religion of their fathers. The same study showed, however, that only 36% of children who were close to their mothers practiced the same religion.

A 1994 peer-reviewed study in Switzerland concluded, "It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children." The study was summed up as follows:

In short, if a father does not go to church — no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions — only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular).

Yet another study indicated that when the mother converted to Christianity, only 17% of her family converted with her. The same study conversely showed that when the father converted, 93% of his family followed his lead.

Our Lady of Fatima foretold in 1917 that Satan's final attack would be against the family. Satan is attacking the family now, as he attacked the first family in the Garden of Eden, by attacking the head of the family — the father.

Chapter three of Genesis recounts how Satan attacked Adam as the head and defender of the family by using Eve. Satan divided the family, and the family fell. But it was still Adam's fall that caused society to fall into original sin.

He's using the same strategy today by using feminists as the modern-day Eves who've been attacking patriarchy itself with devastating results. As statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show, one in three children do not live with their biological fathers — that translates to some 24 million children.

Statistics prove the old adage, "As the family goes, so goes society." But stats further prove the adage, "As the father goes, so goes the family."

Research shows children living without their biological fathers have twice the risk of infant mortality and a seven-times higher rate of teen pregnancy. They're also four times more likely to live in poverty, twice as likely to be obese and twice as likely to drop out of school. These children are more likely to be abused, commit crime, have behavioral problems and abuse drugs or alcohol.

The young families should understand, from the very beginning of the married life, that the home is a little church.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, former chief of the Vatican's highest court, spoke in 2015 on the spiritual value of the family.

"The young families should understand, from the very beginning of the married life," said Burke, "that the home is a little church. In other words, if the husband and wife participate in the love of God, which is faithful, lasting, enduring and procreative, fruitful, then the home is a little sanctuary."

The same year Burke spoke in a separate interview of the so-called "man-crisis" for which he blamed feminists and their attack on fatherhood:
Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women's issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men; the importance of the father, whether in the union of marriage or not; the importance of a father to children; the importance of fatherhood for priests; the critical impact of a manly character; the emphasis on the particular gifts that God gives to men for the good of the whole society.

Watch the panel discuss the necessity for all men to be fathers in The Download—Strength and Honor.

 

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