Study Says Youths Need Religious Balance
Families who pray together at home can contribute to an active, healthy religious faith in their young people, but things can turn out badly when youngsters are only passively involved or when they are compelled to take part every time, researchers say.
“Active faith, including the reported helping of others, was higher in groups in which youth frequently read, prayed and talked about God during family worship,” said Jerry W. Lee and Gail T. Rice of Loma Linda University and V. Bailey Gillespie of La Sierra University in Riverside.
But families--at least Seventh-day Adventist families and those with a similar upbringing--that do not strike the right balance are often those who have young people who are materialistic and, at times, involved in alcohol and drug abuse, the researchers said.
“The surprising finding was that daily worship at home wasn’t as beneficial as the children’s active participation,” Rice said.
Their study of survey responses by 935 parents and a comparable number of Adventist children grades 6 through 12 is published in the current issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion on Friday opened its annual joint meeting with the Religious Research Assn. at San Diego’s Holiday Inn on the Bay.
The researchers examined seven formats of family worship in cases in which children had both parents at home. The trio noted that Adventists generally are conservative Protestants who avoid wearing jewelry, watching movies and listening to rock music, and abstain from smoking and liquor.
When mother and father lead devotions in the home but rarely let children take active part, researchers indicated the youths had more problems--even more than the children of families that had no home prayer sessions.
On the other end of youth involvement, those families that insisted “everyone participate in all worship activities every time” sometimes had children who placed high value on money and material possessions, and were prone to drug and alcohol use, the researchers said.
They suggested that either low participation or rigidly regulated participation by the youths made the prayer gatherings “compulsory, boring and meaningless,” generating resentment.
INTERFAITH
Speakers on Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism will describe the basic beliefs of their faiths in a Sunday night series sponsored by a consortium of Episcopal churches. Janet Sternfeld Davis, a University of Judaism graduate and an interfaith consultant for the National Conference, will kick off the series at 7 p.m. Sunday in the library of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1020 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Upcoming speakers will be Salam Al-Marayati (Islam), the Rev. Heidi Singh (Buddhism) and Manbir Singh (Sikhism). Free. (213) 663-2063.
* Prayer, healing and the afterlife will be the principal themes next Saturday for the fourth annual Religious Diversity Faire at UC Irvine. With 38 workshops led by representatives of 13 faiths, the event is the largest of its kind in the western United States, according to founder Allen Krause, rabbi of Temple Beth El in Aliso Viejo. The Rev. Malcolm Boyd, writer-in-residence at the Episcopal Cathedral Center in Los Angeles, will give a keynote address. The fair is from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Advance registration is $12. (714) 668-9191.
* A UCLA extension course on important religious cities in the world--among them Mecca, Saudi Arabia; Benares, India; Kyoto, Japan; and Rome--will be held on six consecutive Monday nights, starting Nov. 10. Guest speakers include scholars in architecture and art history in a $50 course coordinated by filmmaker John Bragin. (310) 825-9061.
CONFERENCE
Yoram Ben-Ze’ev, the Israeli consul general in Los Angeles, will open a two-day conference on Israel and Christianity with an address at 2 p.m. Friday at Newport-Mesa Christian Center on the campus of Southern California College in Costa Mesa. Conference participants also will attend the Shabbat service 8 p.m. at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach, led by Rabbi Mark S. Miller. H. Wayne House of Michigan Theological Seminary will give a Christian perspective on Israel at 11 a.m. next Saturday. Registration $25-$60. (714) 668-6142.
DATES
Los Angeles First African Methodist Episcopal Church will host a town hall meeting today on public education issues such as the proposed breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District and standardized testing. Supt. Ruben Zacarias, school board member Barbara Boudreaux, other school officials and the Rev. Cecil Murray, pastor of First AME, will take part. The three-hour meeting will start at 11 a.m. The church is at 2270 S. Harvard Blvd. (213) 735-1251.
* A daylong prayer and healing session for Filipino Catholic communities will begin at 9 a.m. today at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The sponsoring Filipino Pastoral Ministry, created by the Los Angeles archdiocese seven years ago, is led by Msgr. Loreto “Mac” Gonzales. (562) 402-9226.
* Gov. Pete Wilson will speak on California reforms in education and welfare at Stephen S. Wise Temple at 8 p.m. Wednesday, launching a five-lecture series at the synagogue atop Sepulveda Pass. Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks will speak Dec. 8. Prices vary. (310) 476-8561.
* Robert Plimpton, the organist at Spreckles Pavilion at Balboa Park in San Diego, will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday at Lake Avenue Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Donations accepted. (626) 795-7221.
* Executive Producer Martha Williamson of the TV shows “Touched by an Angel” and “Promised Land” will receive the Lloyd C. Douglas Spiritual Quest Award for Spiritual Achievement on Friday at a private luncheon organized by the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. (213) 385-1341.
* Ananda W.P. Guruge, visiting professor at Cal State Fullerton’s religious studies department and director of religious studies at Hsi Lai University, Rosemead, will speak on techniques to combat anxiety at 3 p.m. Sunday at Rosemead Buddhist Monastery, 7833 Emerson Place, Rosemead. Free. (626) 280-1213.
* The Judson Studios, one of the largest stained glass studios in the country, will celebrate its 100th year in business. Displays of artwork and paintings will be shown from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the studio, 200 South Avenue 66 in Highland Park. Jane Apostol, author of a new book on the studio, “Painting With Light,” will be present. (213) 255-0131.
* Frederick Swann, music director and organist at the Crystal Cathedral, will give an organ recital at 3 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, 760 S. Westmoreland Ave. $10 donation. (213) 384-2151.
* Actor Mike Farrell and other speakers will appear in an anti-death penalty conference, “Not in Our Name,” at 9 a.m. next Saturday at Loyola Law School, 919 S. Albany Ave., Los Angeles. $15 at door. (213) 223-9047.
* Choirs drawn from Protestant and Catholic churches of the South Coast Ecumenical Council will perform Sunday at 3 p.m. The benefit concerts will be at Covenant Presbyterian Church, known for its inner-city youth and multicultural ministries at 607 E. 3rd St., Long Beach, and at the hilltop St. John Fisher Catholic Church, in Rancho Palos Verdes at 5448 Crest Road. Free with offerings. (562) 595-0268.
FINALLY
Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” will be presented this weekend in Granada Hills by the Parish Temple Players.
The show will include actors drawn from a church and a synagogue--St. Andrew & Charles Episcopal Church and Temple Beth Torah.
Hardly an odd couple, however, the two congregations have shared the same building, at 16651 Rinaldi St., for many years. “We try to do a number of events together,” said Holly Andres, a spokeswoman for the synagogue.
The comedy will be presented at 7 p.m. today and 5 p.m. Sunday, with repeat performances at the same times Nov. 15, 16, 22 and 23. (818) 366-7541.
Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or faxed to Religion desk (818) 772-3385, or e-mailed to john.dart@latimes.com Items should arrive two to three weeks before the event, except for spot news, and should include pertinent details about the people and organizations with address, phone number, date and time.
CHRISTIAN COALITION
Gov. Pete Wilson will address the California Christian Coalition for the first time today during the conservative group’s conference in Long Beach.
The governor is scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m., preceding a talk by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).
The statewide “Road to Victory” conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which opened Friday, also will include talks by Edwin Meese III, former attorney general in the Reagan administration, and Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), co-sponsor of the controversial Religious Freedom Amendment in Congress.
