@NancyRPearcey
An award-winning 35-year longitudinal study asked how parents succeed in passing on their religious convictions. The study found two surprising results: First, “having a close bond with one’s father matters even more than a close relationship with one’s mother.” In other words, fathers wield influence, whether they want to or not. Second, the relationship with the father must be warm and close. A father can be a leader of the community, a pillar of the church, a moral exemplar, but if he is perceived as cold and distant, the child will not follow him, will not adopt his spiritual and religious convictions. Here's the study: