The factors that contribute to the development of gratitude in children and adolescents have yet to be determined fully; however, religion/spirituality are promising areas of investigation in the gratitude intervention research. In this study, 101 young people were recruited from a three-year faith-based mentorship program for a follow-up survey to investigate how adolescents’ gratitude is related to their interaction with Christian mentors. Path analysis not only showed the importance of mentors sharing their religious faith and personal life lessons in the development of gratitude, but also demonstrated that religious mentors’ influence on gratitude was entirely mediated through adolescents’ self-esteem, spirituality, and understanding of Christianity. The findings not only support that spiritual realm matters in gratitude development but also provide us with further insight into how gratitude emerges.
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