Earlier this year, our team and partner organization, the Family Literacy Project™, conducted a survey among U.S. Latter-day Saint young adults from 34 states. They answered questions about the doctrines and principles taught in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Each paragraph was broken down into related questions to test what we’ve reframed as “family literacy” (family literacy is our unique and innovative way of thinking, teaching, and talking about the role of the family in society and life).
With this as a backdrop, we tested family literacy in Latter-day Saint young adults (or in this case, “family proclamation literacy”). We wanted to find out how well Latter-day Saint young adults understood the basics of the proclamation and how well they could connect the dots between doctrine and principles and the complicated world around them.
This new survey provides insight into how today’s young adults in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view the world around them. Where do young adults say they find truth? And, do they view eternal, absolute truth as right for some but not for others? Are traditional gender roles important when raising children? What are more beneficial to society in the long run, strong families or strong governments? Does religion make for happier marriages and are married people happier overall? How do young adults understand complex social issues in relation to doctrinal teachings? Are they comfortable sharing their views about marriage and family in the public square?
We found some interesting (and surprising) things. View the full report here. In the coming year, we’ll be highlighting key findings from our research and what they might mean for reaching, teaching, and training the rising generation.
About Skyline Research Institute and the Family Literacy Project™
The Skyline Research Institute (SRI) is a private, non-profit organization that informs people about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping families in America and the world. It studies family policy; religion and public life; global attitudes and trends; and social and demographic trends on children, marriage, and family. All of the Institute’s reports are available at www.thefamilyproclamation.org and www.familyliteracyproject.org
The Family Literacy Project™ is a program of Skyline Research Institute (SRI). The Family Literacy Project aims to help people of all ages to grow in the ability to discern and analyze the fundamental intersections of the family within social/cultural/political life (what SRI has uniquely reframed and reconceptualized as “family literacy”). The Institute works to advance and promote this new and innovative conceptual framework on the family by providing training and resources to help individuals, universities, and organizations provide the best tools to understand the complex roles that the family plays in human experience.