Miguel Diocuore , Political Blog, Conservative Bloggers, Republican Blogspot, Political Blogs

What does the age of the Earth have to do with the exodus of young people from American churches?
Ken Ham, known for his Answers in Genesis creation-science ministry, says a major study he commissioned by a respected researcher unveils for the first time in a scientific fashion the startling reasons behind statistics that show two-thirds of young people in evangelical churches will leave when they move into their 20s.
The study, highlighted in Ham's new book with researcher Britt Beemer, "Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it," finds church youth already are "lost" in their hearts and minds in elementary, middle and high school – not in college as many assume.
"A lot of the research already done has been to find out how many believe, how many support abortion, believe in the resurrection, say they're born again," Ham told WND. "But nobody has really ever delved into why two-thirds of young people will walk away from the church."
Get "Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it"
The first-of-its-kind study by Beemer – a former senior research analyst for the Heritage Foundation and founder in 1979 of the American Research Group – included 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of 1,000 20 to 29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis.

The survey found, much to Ham's surprise, a "Sunday School syndrome ," indicating children who faithfully attend Bible classes in their church over the years actually are more likely to question the authority of Scripture.