"Religion and the Life Attitudes and Self-Images of American Adolescents" is the latest project of the National Study of Youth and Religion, a four-year effort funded by the philanthropic Lilly Endowment. It began in August 2001 and will continue until August 2005 with the idea of exploring religion and its effect on American youth, among other related issues.

The analysis of survey data, which was collected from about 2,400 high school seniors by two University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sociologists, is likely to be one more affirmation for religious organizations that have made attracting youth to worship a top priority.

Many faith groups are investing money and people to find ways to foster among youth lifelong religious involvement and arm them for the myriad social pressures today.

The report found that about 30 percent of the 12th-graders surveyed consider religion "very important" and 31 percent attend weekly services. On the other end of the findings, about 15 percent consider religion "not important" and an equal number never attend religious services.

Asked whether "it feels good to be alive," about 90 percent of youth who consider religion "very important" responded positively, compared with about 75 percent of youth who consider religion not important.

Similarly, 3.5 percent of students who consider religion very important agreed with the survey statement "life is often meaningless." This compares with about 9.9 percent of their nonreligious peers.

Christian Smith, associate chairman of sociology at the university's Chapel Hill campus and principal investigator in the study, said it is important because religious factors often are left out or ignored in research on youth attitudes.

Smith said there is probably no empirical way of determining a precise, causal link between religion and self-esteem, although statistically it is clearly indicated in the research.

In the study, he and fellow sociologist Robert Faris wrote: "... It might be that religion influences youth to have more positive attitudes and self-images.

"It might also be that youth and families who are already predisposed to be positive choose to become more religiously involved as one strategy to pursue that kind of lifestyle.

"And some youth — who for whatever reasons develop negative attitudes about themselves and their lives — subsequently reduce their religious involvements."

Indeed, religious conviction was not necessarily a guarantee of happiness, Smith and Faris found.

"Although highly religious 12th-graders generally have better life attitudes and self-images than nonreligious 12th-graders," they concluded, "it is still noteworthy that a minority of highly religious 12th-graders, in fact, do have negative life attitudes and self-images.

"Religion is no cure-all for everyone," Smith said.

But it clearly has helped Amanda Zongrone, 17, of Greece, N.Y., a high school senior who says she believes life indeed is worth living. It has its ups and downs, to be sure, but no matter what it brings, her faith in God sustains her.

"Faith gives you a reason and a purpose," says Zongrone, who was not one of the students surveyed.

"I do feel happy and I do love life. Just knowing I have God every day, and when trouble comes, I think that makes all the difference."

Involving young people in religion "creates a community of hope, a sense of being positive amid the often-negative, larger culture," said Michael Theisen, director of youth ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Rochester.