This paper discusses a study undertaken to determine the influence of Catholic parents on the prayer-related religious behavior of their adolescent children from 1963 to 1974. Frequency of prayer was selected as a measure of religious behavior because, while it is a traditional behavior which indicates the intensity of one's religious belief, it is often performed beyond the confines of the institutional church and does not imply acceptance of the church's doctrinal positions. Data were taken from the 1963 to 1974 national surveys of American Catholics conducted by the National Opinion Research Center. The sample consisted of Catholics ages 23 to 57 in the 1963 survey and over 20 years of age for the 1974 sample. The main sample of respondents was interviewed, while spouses and adolescents were directed to complete written self-administered questionnaires. Questions focused on mother's and father's prayer and offspring's prayer. Findings from a statistical analysis of responses, including variables such as sex of the child and survey year, indicated that the frequency of mother's and daughter's prayer declined, and, to a lesser extent, so did father's and son's prayer. It was concluded that parents stongly influence the frequency of their offspring's prayer. (DB)