Denominational Differences in US Synagogues' Promotion of Youth Physical Activity Programming

AbstractLess than 25% of US children 6 –17 years of age are sufficiently active. Faith-based settings are one of the nine societal sectors tasked with promoting physical activity (PA). Religious organizations frequently use diverse media, including websites, bulletins/newsletters, and calendars to inform current/potential members of ev ents. These could be used to inform youth congregants about PA programs and/or various programs (e.g., worship, social group) with a PA component. We aimed to identify types of PA offerings available to youth and detect disparities by denomination. We performed a systematic line-by-line analysis of website content for a nationally representative, proportionate random sample of 1386 US synagogues representing five denominations: Humanistic (n = 24), Reconstructionist (n = 86), Reform (n = 462), Conservative (n = 368), and Orthodox (n = 446). We utilized crosstabulations and post hoc analyses (z scores) to identify denominational differences by a priori determined program type: education, worship, youth group, and preschool. Only 35% of the synagogues overall mentioned provision of at least one PA across program types. Proportions by denomination included: Humanistic (8%), Reconstructionist (48%), Reform (29%), Conservative (60%), and Orthodox (21%). There were denominational differences for education, worship, and preschool, with Conservative synagogue websites mentioning PA programs more frequently than expected. Future re...
Source: Journal of Religion and Health - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research