THE INFLUENCE OF SEMINARY AND INSTITUTE INSTRUCTION AND ATTENDANCE ON THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between religious beliefs and religious behaviors of students in the Church Educational System (CES) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in comparison with non-CES subjects. A second purpose was to determine whether a significant increase in religious belief and religious behavior occurred as additional courses in CES were completed. A questionnaire was developed to determine the religious beliefs and religious behavior of the subjects and 320 CES students and 27 non-CES subjects were evaluated as to their religious beliefs and religious behavior. The religious beliefs and religious behavior of the subjects was also evaluated according to the number of years they had completed CES courses to determine significant changes. Results of the study indicated that there is a true relationship between religious beliefs and religious behavior which increases only slightly as students participate in CES courses. The results also indicated that the CES courses change religious behavior significantly, but religious belief is not changed significantly.