50 college students and their mothers answered questions about their relationships with each other and about their religiosity. On the assumption that religious beliefs are socialized like other beliefs, the hypothesis that greater closeness between mother and child would be associated with more agreement, including agreement on religion, was tested and supported. Similarly, less closeness was associated with less agreement, including on religion. Looking at religion as a reflection of socialization rather than personality traits explains many research results and also raises further questions.
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