Church Attendance Boosts Student GPAs

by JeffHuang | August 19, 2008 at 10:24 am

1216 views | 5 Recommendations | 26 comments

I think this research just proves by having your kids participate in extracurricular activities such as sports teams, church, and volunteering keeps their head straight and off the streets.

I remember learning about this in University where New York City set up night time basketball courts wanting to provide activities for people to participate in at night. Statistics show that this project lowered crime rate in the city by a major percentage. These two examples are mutually exclusive, but there is a hint of similarity in the fact that when you provide activities for people to do, it takes their mind off negative practices.

If you want to boost your teenager's grade point average, take the kid to church. Or, a new study suggests, find some similar social activity to involve them in.

Researchers found that church attendance has as much effect on a teen's GPA as whether the parents earned a college degree. Students in grades 7 to 12 who went to church weekly also had lower dropout rates and felt more a part of their schools.

On average, students whose parents received a four-year college degree average a GPA .12 higher than those whose parents completed high school only. Students who attend religious services weekly average a GPA .144 higher than those who never attend services, said Jennifer Glanville, a sociologist at the University of Iowa.

Factors to why students do better:

They have regular contact with adults from various generations who serve as role models.

Their parents are more likely to communicate with their friends' parents.

They develop friendships with peers who have similar norms and values.

They're more likely to participate in extracurricular activities.

I personally think that this GPA study would be similar if it was conducted on teenagers who participate in sports. I would think that their GPA would be higher than people who do not do sports and also with a lower dropout rate.

158

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Nuts4you

at 19:37 on August 19th, 2008

I was on vacation in Missoula, MT and came across the Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation. Locals say it was used in the filming of "A River Runs Through It". If it was or wasn't I found it to be a beautiful church and took a picture for a memory.

Nuts4you has contributed a photo to this story.

J.ea.n

at 20:07 on August 19th, 2008

J.ea.n has contributed a photo to this story.

d2digital

at 21:08 on August 19th, 2008

It was a Saturday morning, my usual shooting day. So, I decided to go to Baclaran Church. Being a street-photography lover, I observed before I shot. Then, I came across this two boys seated by the hallway. I got curious and took some shots.

d2digital has contributed a photo to this story.

jamretsam324

at 21:44 on August 19th, 2008

La Canonica roman church near Bastia, Corsica

jamretsam324 has contributed a photo to this story.

Ronaldsworld

at 21:56 on August 19th, 2008

A church in Port Moody B C , I liked,so I took this picture. May God bless you all.

Ronaldsworld has contributed a photo to this story.

peterlozano

at 23:31 on August 19th, 2008

This is an abandoned chirstian church in Larache, Morocco. I took this picture during my vacation there on august 2008.

peterlozano has contributed a photo to this story.

FotoBloke

at 23:41 on August 19th, 2008

I've seen nothing of particular interest but quite a lot of general interest.

FotoBloke has contributed a photo to this story.

mchawk

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:51 on August 19th, 2008

JeffHuang, I like this story. It's good stuff.

The religious spin on the original article is an interesting cultural bias. I think your comments - about it being any positive extra-curricular study - are closer to the truth of the matter. Is is not just a case that delinquents and drop-outs are less likely to go to church just as unlikely to excel academically.

I'm not sure how dogmatic adherence to ancient literature could be demonstrated to have a direct influence on GPA.

(start your flame war... now) :)

andybebbs

at 00:00 on August 20th, 2008

This church is in freshford in wiltshire and looks stunning when viewed at night with the lights on the church.
Andy

andybebbs has contributed a photo to this story.

raulfragoso

at 02:54 on August 20th, 2008

Being myself an agnostic, I do believe that both kids and teenagers benefit from social and moral engagements like frequenting the church and doing other collective activities such as sports, charity and volunteering work.
I have two adopted 5yr old twin boys who have been left behind by their parents. My wife, who's an obstetrics nurse and also a catholic devote, also do her best to get our kids and other children from our community together, and going to the church is something we often do on sundays. I've been raised in a catholic family, and I do realize the benefits of being taught moral principles, unconditional love for the others and having respect for some superior, divine entity, even though my personal believes in God are somehow different from the catholics, but that's a very personal conviction and I don't regret by any means all the education I had have from my parents and grandparents, including frequenting the church and following other religious activities.
Nonetheless, apart from encouraging my kids to go to the church and get engaged with sports, I really believe that we as parents have the most important role in our kids education by giving them the best examples of fairness, friendship, fraternity and do our best to live in harmony with all the creatures in our world.

raulfragoso has contributed a photo to this story.

Dxiaodiao

at 03:12 on August 20th, 2008

Francis Xavier Church (1849)

This Gothic church was built by the French priest Father P. Fabre in 1849. It is dedicated to St. Francis Xavier who was an one of the earliest Catholic missionaries active in southeast Asia. The church sits where an old Portuguese mission once stood.

In the course of his missionary work, Father Fabre developed a close affinity with the Malay people and became a Professor of Malay in Paris. He also wrote several books on Javanese and Malay languages.

The church is essentially identical to its original construction, except for the portico which was added in 1963. The interior is little changed except for the floor which was cemented in 1920.

(Article taken from www.orientalarchitecture.com)

Dxiaodiao has contributed a photo to this story.

maryn0503

at 03:42 on August 20th, 2008

This church is in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

maryn0503 has contributed a photo to this story.

guck_amol_do

at 05:07 on August 20th, 2008

This photo was taken in Trier Germany. You see the St. Gangolf Kirche (St. Gangolf church) which was built in the 12th century.

guck_amol_do has contributed a photo to this story.

compli.cait

at 08:04 on August 20th, 2008

I think church helps refresh my mind for the next week of school, and helps me to let go of a lot of stress I may be holding on to.

compli.cait has contributed a photo to this story.

Joseph Michael

at 08:11 on August 20th, 2008

My short visit in liverpool last week ... so i get a great chance to shoot this Great church .... Im so happy to share this Great Church picture in public.. Thank you, Joseph.

Joseph Michael has contributed a photo to this story.

iamheero

at 08:24 on August 20th, 2008

This photo of a church on Main St. in Brattleboro,VT, was taken during the winter of 2007.

iamheero has contributed a photo to this story.

SAVAGE PHOTOS

at 09:01 on August 20th, 2008

Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston July 2008

SAVAGE PHOTOS has contributed a photo to this story.

mrs_phillips

at 11:02 on August 20th, 2008

church steeple in downtown charleston south carolina taken from the stairwell of the art museum on meeting street.

mrs_phillips has contributed a photo to this story.

Hong CN

at 16:14 on August 20th, 2008

Personally dare not claim that this photo is great. I appreciate much on Jeff value my photographic view. Was there during one of the event - Penang in 24 hours - a team of people will go to suggested locations to shoot photo within 24 hours. It was fun when the sky was blue and very sunny day. This Church of Assumption building looks great to capture. In short, the 24 hours event was great and had great experience. Wish I can have it again to shoot Penang heritage and beautiful objects in near future.

Hong CN has contributed a photo to this story.

Markie R

at 18:17 on August 20th, 2008

This Church is in Delft, Holland. It was such a beautiful day, the sky was perfect.

Markie R has contributed a photo to this story.

querin.rene

at 23:21 on August 20th, 2008

This is the photo of a church inside the Roman Forum - Forum Romanum, obviously in Rome. I take it in a sunny day of February.

querin.rene has contributed a photo to this story.

alabarz

at 05:47 on August 21st, 2008

The photo of the belfry was taken from Tabaco City, Bicol Region, Philippines and is one of the oldest landmark of the place.

Boggs Industries

at 19:00 on August 21st, 2008

I photographed this church a while back in downtown Tampa, Florida not far from the University of Tampa. The city has various styles of architecture, but the church really stood out in contrast to it's surroundings. I don't remember what denomination it was, or even exactly where it was downtown. It is a nice looking church though.

Boggs Industries has contributed a photo to this story.

David Ahlbom

at 22:14 on August 25th, 2008

This photo was taken on my holiday trip to Scotland during the middle of August 2008. The Glenfinnan Church is located in a very beautiful area, at the west coast of Scotland, not far from Fort William. Here you will also find the train viaduct of Glenfinnan - famous from the Harry Potter movies.

David Ahlbom has contributed a photo to this story.