Do peers matter? It depends: Religious education during childhood, peer religiosity, and adolescent religiosity of Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals

Previous research supports the relations between religious education and adolescent religiosity, peer religiosity and adolescent religiosity, and differences of religiosity based on religious affiliation with Catholicism, Mainline Protestantism, and Evangelicalism. Previous research has not examined the moderating effect of peer religiosity on the relations between religious education during childhood and adolescent religiosity for Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals. The present study used the sample of 949 children participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to examine the relations between religious education during fourth and fifth grades, child's peer religiosity in sixth grade, and adolescent religiosity at age 15 of Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals. This researcher hypothesized that religious education would predict adolescent religiosity for each of the three groups. Additionally, peer religiosity was expected to predict adolescent religiosity for Mainline Protestants and Evangelicals but not Catholics since Catholic adolescents communicated less with peers about religious matters. Finally, peer religiosity was expected to moderate the relation between religious education and adolescent religiosity for Evangelicals because they have the highest levels of network closure. High network closure is a closed or contained system that promulgates the organization's goals, values, and norms via the formation of high density relationships within the organization and via the promotion of group insularity.;Based on statistical results from both traditional regression analyses and multiple group structural equation modeling, children's religious education predicted adolescent religiosity for all three religious groups. Peer religiosity predicted adolescents' religiosity for Mainline Protestants and Evangelicals but not for Catholics. Peer religiosity moderated the relation between religious education and adolescent religiosity for Evangelicals, the religious group with the highest level of network closure but not for Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Implications for current and future research are discussed.