Going to Sunday school is more likely to be detrimental to the spiritual and moral health of children than non-attendance, according to a surprising new study.

Compared to the 39% of 20-somethings who did not attend Sunday school while growing up interviewed by America's Research Group (ARG), the 61% who said they did were more likely to have doubts about the Bible, view the church as hypocritical and believe that good people don't need to go to church.

Those were some of the findings of the poll carried out by consumer research expert Britt Beemer's ARG on behalf of Ken Ham's Answers in Genesis creationist ministry. The two men presented the results and their conclusions in Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What You Can Do to Stop It, recently published by Master Books.

Addressing what they call the "Sunday school syndrome," Beemer-the author of two major studies on the Christian retail industry-and Hamm said the "alarming" results are "a slap in the face" and indicate that radical changes are needed.

The pair wrote that the research-which included questions about beliefs regarding creation and evolution-raised major concerns about biblical authority and the "disconnect" for people "between their spirituality and reality."

To read more about the findings of Already Gone, go to http://alreadygonebook.wordpress.com/

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