Youth America

In our surveys of America's youth, the results underscore the compelling qualities of youth:

• idealism
• optimism
• spontaneity
• exuberance

Young people tell us that they're enthusiastic about helping ohters, willing to work for world peace and a healthy workd, and they feel positive about their schools and even more positive about their teachers.

A large majority of American youth report that they are happy and excited about the future, feel very close to their families, are likely to marry, want to have children, are satisfied with their personal lives, and desire to reach the top of their chosen careers. But, sadly, many youth do not fit these categories.

In what ways are young people prepared to build a stronger, healthier society in the new world that is upon us?

	Teens want clear rules to live by; they want clarity. They favor teaching values in schools, which half of the schools do now.
	Young people overwhelmingly want to reduce the level of violence on television. Television can be a great force for good, but it’s not being realized.
	In the area of sex education, teens overwhelmingly would like to have abstinence taught. Young women would like more help in knowing how to say “no.”
	Young people would like to see divorce harder to get. They’d like to see more pre-marriage counseling. More than half of new marriages will break up.
	Nearly half of all young people today volunteer. Half of all schools have a volunteer program. A majority of young people would like to see such programs be made mandatory. If a child is involved as a volunteer before age eleven, it becomes a lifetime habit.

Adapted from Religion in America, 2002, Princeton Religion Research Center, by Joe Iaquinta (emphasis mine).