Faith Formation In Australia

The demise of faith, particularly in western countries is becoming an increasingly more prevalent condition of the contemporary era. In fact, developing countries now have the highest percentage of individuals who identify themselves as religious. Studies have shown that in recent decades, belief in God and participation in religious practices have decayed in most western countries but remained high in developing countries as it is a profound hope for the future. In fact, a study by Harvard sociologist Pippa Norris and University of Michigan political scientist Ronald Inglehart (2006) found that faith in God has decayed by 33.6% in Sweden, 19.9% in Australia and 7.2% cent in Canada. Within the Religion Survey, 80% of the participants claimed

The United Church of Christ (2017) claims that Christians’ faith may be developed through the path of faith education which includes the participation in the practices of individuals’ day-to-day lives and the formalities of the Church – this is achieved through devotion, evangelism, study and love. Through the Religion Survey it displayed 58% of the participants acknowledging that youth groups have been significant in formation of Christian principles (Refer to figure 3; 457321G, 2017). This is further supported by Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett, Professor of Historical Theology at EDS (2017) who recognizes that faith formation is an enduring evolution of understanding, service and love of God. St. Joseph Catholic Church (2017) claims that within the teaching which God has revealed to individuals out of love, their way through life is illuminated by reality. In fact, As Pope Benedict XVI (2009) states: “the truth is essential for the true growth of individuals and we must have the truth to be able to know how to live”. Emile Durkheim (1897) a sociologist proposes a notion of social participation is connected with involvement in religious groups with intensified stages of well-being. Further to this, Durkheim argues that a consciousness of isolation is amended if a person is faithful and associates himself within groups including church faith formation youth groups. Life Line Organization (2017) argues that feeling isolated is negatively correlated with lack of purpose or meaning in