COUNTERCULTURE OR CONTINUITY - COMPETING INFLUENCES ON BABY BOOMERS RELIGIOUS ORIENTATIONS AND PARTICIPATION

The presumed attractiveness of countercultural orientations to young, educated, baby boomers led many scholars to proclaim the 1960s counter culture as the driving force behind declining religious participation, and a supposed growing distaste for biblical religion. In contrast, t heories of religious behavior predict substantial continuity in religi ous orientations and commitments. Social ties and life course events i nfluence religious beliefs and rates of participation yet these ties a nd transitions often support traditional religious expressions. I inte grate insights from studies of baby boomer religion with more general theories of religious commitment, merging theories of the dual nature of social structures with rational choice perspectives on religious be havior. Using data from the 1965-1982 Youth Parent Socialization Panel Study, I analyze the relative influence of three factors on baby boom ers' religious orientations and participation: (1) traditional agents of socialization (denominations, parents, and schools); (2) life cours e factors (marriage, divorce, and childrearing); and (3) Participation in the protest movements of the 1960s and early 1970s-a widely cited countercultural protagonist of religious change. I also demonstrate ho w prior religious orientations directed participation in the countercu lture. My analyses show that traditional socialization agents, life co urse factors, and countercultural participation all play a role in dir ecting future religious orientations and commitments. However, traditi onal socialization factors have a dominant influence on future religio us beliefs and participation.