Psychologist Vern Bengston did an award-winning 35-year longitudinal study finding that 68 percent of children who have a close relationship with their father will hold on to their father’s religion.

“What is really interesting,” Bengston writes, “is that, for religious transmission, having a close bond with one’s father matters even more than a close relationship with one’s mother.” Fathers wield influence, whether they intend to or not.

Yet the key phrase is close bond. “Fervent faith cannot compensate for a distant dad,” Bengston clarifies. “A father who is an exemplar, a pillar of the church, but doesn’t provide warmth and affirmation to his kid does not have kids who follow him in his faith.”

In short, what matters in a child's religious life is his father's love.

Happy Father's Day.

excerpt by Nancy Pearcy

Check out her new book here