Dear Participants,
This is a questionnaire being carried out in the Delacree Pen, Kingston community to determine
the reasons for the decreasing level of religious practices among the teens and youths in the
community. The questionnaire also seeks to uncover the possible effects caused by teens turning
away from religion and measures that can be introduced to deter teens from their increasing
disinterest in religion. This questionnaire is separated into two sections, Section 1 and Section 2.
Section 1 is to be answered by those ages 11 and 12 and section 2 for those ages 13 - 19.
This study is being conducted as part of the requirement for a Social Studies course that the
researcher is currently pursuing. Please answer the questions as honestly as possible. There are
no wrong or right answers, just put a tick [ ] in the spaces provided or write on the lines where
necessary.The names and identities of respondents will be kept anonymous and the information
collected will only be used for the benefit of the research project. Thank you for your
cooperation and assistance.
Yours Truly,
Topic:
Why are teenagers turning away from religion in my community?
_________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 1
Instructions:
The following section is to be answered by questionnaire respondents between the ages of 11 and
12. Please put a tick inside the space provided and write on the line if necessary.
i) How old are you?
11 [ ] 12 [ ]
1) Do you believe in any God?
Yes, I do [ ] I don’t think so [ ]
No, I do not [ ]
2) Did you grow up attending church services or any other religious service?
Yes, I did. I went to them regularly [ ]
Yes, I did. However, we only went occasionally [ ]
No, I never did [ ]
3) What religion does your family belong to?
Christianity [ ]
Hinduism [ ]
Islam [ ]
Judaism [ ]
No Religion [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
4) Do you believe in your family religion?
Yes, I do [ ]
No, I do not [ ]
I have no feelings towards it [ ]
5) Do you practise your family Religion?
Yes [ ] No [ ] My family has no religion [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
6) How often do you go to church or a religious place of worship?
Daily [ ]
Weekly [ ]
Monthly [ ]
Never [ ]
Only on special occassions [ ]
7) The last time you went to a religious place of worship you:
were invited [ ]
were forced to go by parents or other relatives [ ]
were attending a funeral/wedding [ ]
went because you wanted to [ ]
N/A(in the case that you did not go to a religious service at all) [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
8) How do you feel when you attend a religious service?
Bored [ ]
Indifferent [ ]
Misplaced [ ]
I feel happy to be there [ ]
9) How important on a scale of 1- 5, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 5 being
the highest level of importance, is religion to you?
1[] 2[]
3[] 4[] 5[]
10) How important on a scale of 1- 5, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 5
being the highest level of importance, is religion to your parents or guardians?
1[] 2[]
3[] 4[] 5[]
11) How do you think your attitude towards religion differs from that of your parents or the
adults in your family?
Our attitudes towards religion are the same. We place great importance on religion [ ]
Our attitudes towards religion are the same. We place little importance on religion [ ]
I place little to no importance on religion [ ]
12) Do you think religion or having a religion is beneficial to you in any way?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
I don’t know [ ]
_________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 2
Instructions:
The following section is to be answered by questionnaire respondents between the ages of 13 and
19. Please put a tick inside the space provided and write on the line if necessary
i) To which age group do you belong?
13 –15 [ ] 16 – 19 [ ]
1) Do you believe in a supreme being?
Yes, I do [ ] Neutral/ I have no thoughts on the subject [ ]
No, I do not [ ]
2) Did you grow up attending church services or any other religious service?
Yes, I did. I went to them regularly [ ]
Yes, I did. However, we only went occasionally [ ]
No, I never did [ ]
3) What religion does your family belong to?
Christianity [ ]
Hinduism [ ]
Islam [ ]
Judaism [ ]
No Religion [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
4) Do you practise your family Religion?
Yes [ ] No [ ] My family has no religion [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
5) Do you believe in your family Religion?
Yes, I do [ ]
No, I do not [ ]
Neutral [ ]
6) How often do you go to church or a religious place of worship?
Daily [ ]
Weekly [ ]
Monthly [ ]
Never [ ]
Only on special occassions [ ]
7) The last time you went to a religious place of worship you:
were invited [ ]
were forced to go by parents or other relatives [ ]
were attending a funeral/wedding [ ]
went because you wanted to [ ]
N/A [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
8) How do you feel when you attend a religious service?
Bored [ ]
Indifferent [ ]
Misplaced [ ]
I feel convicted/ I feel happy to be there [ ]
9) How important on a scale of 1- 5, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 5 being
the highest level of importance, is religion to you?
1[] 2[]
3[] 4[] 5[]
10) How important on a scale of 1- 5, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 5
being the highest level of importance, is religion to your parents or guardians?
1[] 2[]
3[] 4[] 5[]
11) How do you think your attitude towards religion differs from that of your parents or the
adults in your family?
Our attitudes towards religion are the same. We place great importance on religion [ ]
Our attitudes towards religion are the same. We place little importance on religion [ ]
I place little to no importance on religion [ ]
12) Morals are a standard of behaviour. They refer to the principles of right and wrong.
Religion and morality are closely intertwined and as a result, they tend to coexist or
interfere with each other. How do you think religion affects the morals of teens?
Religion does not have any noticeable effects on the morals of teens [ ]
As a teen religion affects your morals positively.
It has a positive effect on decision-making skills [ ]
13) From your observation, what is your perception of the attitudes of teens as it related to
religion and religious activities?
Teens have little or no interest in religious services [ ]
Teens are engaged in religious services at their own will [ ]
Teens participate in religious activities because they are told to [ ]
14) Which would you say are the main factors which contribute to teenagers turning away
from religion and leaving their respective religious places of worship?
( Tick all that apply)
Tick all that apply
The hypocrisy of the religious groups’ members [ ]
The unwelcoming atmosphere of the religious place of worship [ ]
The strict dress rules of the religious group [ ]
The need to be independent and do as you see fit in your teenage years [ ]
Attraction to the ‘outside’ world [ ]
Religion seems to have a very overbearing and overprotective culture [ ]
The unforgiving nature of religious people [ ]
The intolerance of doubts in religious groups [ ]
15) What do you think will be the outcome if the number of teens turning away from religion
continues to increase?
Religious groups will be comprised of an ageing population [ ]
Religions as we know it may very well come to an end as there is no new generation to
continue them [ ]
The rate of immoral acts will increase all around the world [ ]
16) How do you think teens turning away from religion will affect the community of
Delacree Pen?
It may cause a fall in the values and morals of youths in the community [ ]
Cases of immorality among teens and young adults will increase [ ]
It will affect the community in that teens will be more involved in substance abuse and
criminal activities now that they have no agent of social control to keep them in line [ ]
17) What do you think can be done in order to pull teens back to religion?
Religious institutions should start catering to younger audiences
instead of focusing only on their older members [ ]
Religious institutions should issue leading roles to younger people as a way of
encouraging teens to participate in religious activities. [ ]
Since sincerity and honesty are two of the things teens crave when they interact with
others, Religious institutions should strive to make the atmosphere of their places of
worship inviting instead of unwelcoming. [ ]
Other_________________________________________________
(Please specify)
How was the survey carried out?
1. Ideas for the statistical investigation were discussed and topics to investigate were
brainstormed. It was decided to carry out a survey into teenagers’ attitudes towards religion.
2. A draft of the questionnaire was drawn up and a trial survey was completed. This trial survey
was carried out to identify any flaws in the questionnaire. A number of changes were made to the
questionnaire based on the results of this trial survey.
3. The questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of students from the school. The group
visited a number of classes and handed out the surveys.
4. The results from the surveys were compiled and the findings were analysed.