The Longitudinal Study of Generations has been studying the members of more than 350 families since 1970. The latest wave of the study has reached the fifth generation of participants for the first time. At this symposium, the study's co-leaders, Merril Silverstein (Syracuse University) and Joseph Blankholm (UCSB), will present their preliminary findings and their plans for future research. They will be joined by members of their research teams who are investigating a range of subjects, including the transmission of values, LGBTQ+ identity, the beliefs of atheists and agnostics, and the growing importance of spirituality. This cutting-edge research is funded by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Presentations include:

• Joseph Blankholm (UCSB), “The Meaning of Religion in the 21st Century”
• Merril Silverstein (Syracuse University), “Did Gender Egalitarianism Weaken Religiosity in Baby-Boom Women as They Aged into Later Life?”
• Maria Brown (Syracuse University), “Differences in Sexual Orientations, Religiosity, and Spirituality across Three Generations: Evidence from the 2022 Survey”
• Woosang Hwang (Texas Tech University), “Do Religious Transitions from Early to Established Adulthood Predict Filial Elder-care Norms?”
• Seonhwa Lee (Syracuse University), “Religion as a Basis for the Transmission of Values between Generations”
• Abraham Hawley-Suárez and Shakir Stephen (UCSB), “Exclusive Empiricism and Mortal Finitude: What ‘Atheist’ and ‘Agnostic’ Really Mean”

This event is free and open to the public. 

The Capps Center is pleased to co-sponsor this event along with the Humanities & Social Change Center and the Department of Religious Studies.