Why Religion Persists After Religious Upbringing: Personality‐Linked Values and Religious Retention in a Secular Panel Study

ABSTRACT Religious upbringing predicts adult affiliation, yet many people raised religiously leave, whereas others remain affiliated. Using the Dutch LISS panel, a probability‐based household panel, we compare 5016 religious stayers and leavers and use repeated observations from 2017 to 2024 for temporal checks. Nested logistic models show that the content‐based Rokeach conventionality and security composite is associated with higher retention odds. A one‐standard‐deviation increase corresponds to OR = 2.31, 95% CI [2.06, 2.60]. Excluding the religiously proximal salvation item attenuates the estimate to OR = 1.54, 95% CI [1.38, 1.71]. The autonomy and openness composite is negatively associated with retention, OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.62, 0.74]. The negative openness‐to‐change association persists across alternative value mappings, whereas the positive conservation result depends on item mapping. The current family composite is modestly positive, OR = 1.17, but family‐by‐value and sex differences are not supported after multiplicity adjustment. Belief in God is modeled with unrestricted categorical estimators. Lagged, reciprocal, and hybrid models indicate bidirectional associations and stable between‐person differences rather than a one‐way causal process. Religious retention is associated with value alignment, but the theoretical label attached to that association must follow the measure.