Grandparents and the transmission of the faith and Christian lifestyle

Abstract

In the past the multigenerational housing was a necessity due to economic reasons. Young families were only gradually acquiring the means enabling them to become independent of their parents. Overall economic growth and progressive urbanisation have made it possible for young families to gain their independence much more quickly. However, from the perspective of the transmission of faith and Christian lifestyle, this development has broken the natural intergenerational continuity. Young families are often unable to transform the way they live their faith into an adequate lifestyle which used to be transmitted from generation to generation as a matter of course. The surveys on religiosity in Slovakia show the positive influence of grandparents on the transmission of faith. The most important persons in this area are mothers and grandmothers, while fathers and grandfathers' typical feature is their long-term nonparticipation in this process. Recently, we can observe a trend towards the renewal of multigenerational housing with a larger living area linking the autonomy of a nuclear family with its proximity to grandparents. Provided that both sides comply with mutually agreed rules regulating their coexistence and the use of common areas, such housing can be enriching for each of them.