Children's Spirituality Summit 2024

My session topic is “how Christian Second-Generation Korean Americans (CSGKA)
assess their parents’ influence on their faith formation.” This study takes the theoretical
framework of Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, James W. Fowler’s faith development
theory, John H. Westerhoff’s four styles of faith theory, and religious socialization theories. A total of 24 interviews were conducted with CSGKA who were raised up in a Christian home and are currently married and with teenage children at the time of the interview.

Regarding faith formation, this study demonstrates that CSGKA make meaning from their parents’ influence. It appears that from childhood to youth, CSGKA use faith life of their parents as a guide for their own religious life. They follow their parents’ examples as they attend church, pray, and read the Bible. Once CSGKA obtain Owned Faith style (Westerhoff), what they have observed in their parents’ lives becomes a way of continuing relationship building process with God.

In addition, the findings of this study bring attention to CSGKA who testifies that their
parents’ influence on their faith formation was minimal. Lack of emotional connection
appears to be a crucial reason for this phenomenon. However, this does not indicate that parental influence was missing on their faith formation. What this study reveals is that parental influence affects the social, emotional, and value areas of CSGKA. In concluding, this study suggests individuals to continually reflect on experiences with parents even after they become adults. Those experiences are lasting rich resources for individual’s faith formation."