A new study shows just how key parents’ roles are in helping their children maintain their faith in adulthood. The Institute for Family Studies and Communio has developed “Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations,” which looks at the habits of Christian parents and how those impacted their children’s faith as they grew up. Some of the major behaviors that appeared to positively impact their children’s faith into adulthood included daily prayer, regular church attendance, strong family bonds, and regular faith discussions.

The study began with an alarming illustration of how faith in the US has declined since the 90s. It found that only 28% of adults currently attend services weekly, while 59% of those adults attended religious services weekly at the age of 12. Researchers suggested a number of causes for the decline, including the advent of the internet that brought on more access to atheistic arguments and doubt, an American identity that focused less on faith as a central aspect of the nation, as well as large-scale scandals within the Protestant and Catholic churches.

The study did find, however, that parental faith habits could still have a major impact on their children into adulthood. One finding from the research was that adults whose parents regularly attended church on a weekly basis were twice as likely (26% vs 12%) to attend services weekly into their 30s and 40s. The percentage was even higher when both parents attended the services weekly, with 41% of adults attending services weekly if both their parents did versus 29% with just one parent who did. In fact, a very good relationship with both parents played a huge role in church attendance, with children growing up to have 76% higher odds of attending services weekly. When parents stated faith was very important in their lives, around two thirds of their adult children were likely to say the same. Prayer experienced a similar impact, with parents who prayed daily having a 47% chance of having children who did the same as adults. Less than one-third of adults stated they prayed daily if their parents did not pray daily.

Researchers stated that faith being carried on from childhood into adulthood needed more than just weekly church attendance, which might make faith seem like it’s just for Sundays. The National Study of Youth and Religion found two family-based spiritual practices that can help faith mean more than just a Sunday tradition: praying before meals and praying together as a family outside of mealtimes and church services.

Additionally, researchers stated that families must take faith from beyond mere practice to something that is discussed regularly. This means discussing “What?” and “Why?” questions with children. The study found that those who grew up discussing faith several times a week or more were over twice as likely to attend church, say religion was very important to them, and pray daily in young adulthood. They were also 20 percentage points more likely to identify as a Christian. Such data should encourage parents who are afraid they are “jamming religion down the throats” of their children to be more open, not less.

Researchers concluded that parents could have a huge role in driving their children’s faith with a number of intentional factors. “The number of marriages, the health of those marriages, the quality of a parent’s relationship with his children, and the types of conversations we have with our kids are all major factors affecting the future of faith in America,” said JP De Gance, founder and president of Communio. “Here’s the good news: many of these factors are within a parents’ control. This research shows that the family really is the best small group ever created.”