This answer was marked to be 16/18 with the only criticism to be to label the theories I used.

Religious behaviour refers to any behaviour that is influenced by the religious beliefs that a person has. For example people may go on a pilgrimage and follow certain food laws. It is important to include more types of religious behaviour beyond church attendance because someone can go to church and not believe or not go to church and believe. This is why I am using an inclusive definition which would include doing a quick prayer before an exam or if someone gets ill.

In item A it mentions that people go to religious services for the community and the contact with others. As all young people are in compulsory education until they turn 18 they may not feel a need to go to church as they will have all the social interaction at school. This is shown by all the group work and that they will have lunch with many of their peers. This is a strong reason because it gives one explanation as to why younger people are less likely to go to church. However, it can be criticised by saying that not all students will have a positive experience of school. Some may be bullied or pushed out to the point that they may be truant. This means that they will not get as much social interaction with others.

In contrast Voas and Crockett looked at why older people may be more religious. They stated that as people got older they got more religious because they are closer to death and therefore they are scared. This is relevant because they will attend church more. This is shown in item A, where in 1999 one in six people aged 65 or over attended church whereas only one in twenty 18-24 year olds attended church. This could be because the young people have a lot of time ahead they think that they are invincible and therefore do not worry about death. However, this could be criticised by