Adventist Youth and the Church: An Overview of Research Related to Roger Dudley’s Seminal Contributions

Abstract

Beginning with his doctoral dissertation in 1977, Roger Dudley initiated a research agenda for the Seventh-day Adventist Church that explored the connection between church practices and youth spiritual outcomes. An analysis of this entire body of research on Adventist youth over the four decades ending in 2020 gives rise to the following generalizations: (1) overall church engagement is related to quality of relationships; (2) doctrinal loyalty is a function of the quality of experiences; (3) lifestyle choices reflect ambiguity of youth toward church standards; (4) Adventist education's effects are positively related to church engagement although the causitive connection is yet unknown; and (5) the effectiveness of church programming seems related to the extent of youth involvement. A new research agenda is needed in the wake of the Roger Dudley era of research into youth/church engagement that attempts to identify church practices which result in positive youth outcomes and the causative reasons for them.

Notes

Notes

1 The North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an administrative unit consisting of congregations in Bermuda, Canada, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, and the United States of America.

2 Roger L. Dudley, “Selected Variables Related to Alienation from Religion as Perceived by Students Attending Seventh-day Adventist Academies In the United States“(PhD dissertation, Andrews University, 1977), Abstract, 1.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ed Boyatt, “Report Card on Adventist K-12 Education,” Adventist Review, 2004.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul S. Brantley

Paul S. Brantley (PhD, Ohio State) is a vice president of the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His service for the church has spanned 50 years, during which time he held positions in church administration, education, and health care. He’s the lead author of the book Becoming a Mission-driven Church (Pacific Press, 2015) and the founding editor of the Journal of Research on Christian Education.