Please read this article, and tell me if you agree or disagree that many of today's young adults subscribe to "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism:"
"[The study showed] most religious teens in the U.S. had very little appreciation or regard for the theological and doctrinal particulars of their own religious traditions but did believe that God exists, loves them, wants them to follow the Golden Rule, and comforts them in the midst of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence... [They believe] all religious traditions are functionally equivalent, and that they provide spiritual succor, moral guidance, and emotional support in about equal measures."
"...a majority of the 30 percent of this cohort of emerging adults who are regular churchgoers are “selective adherents” who “believe and perform certain aspects of their religious traditions but neglect and ignore others.” ...When it comes to religion, this seems to be a generation of lukewarm believers."
Be sure to read the author's theory regarding why this trend occurs...
-----
Rather than writing a lengthy response of my own, I'd like to borrow a few quotes from commenters at the bottom of the linked article.
20-Something Wrote:
"As a member of what would be considered the "Emerging Adult" group, I must say Christian Smith is right on. . .and totally wrong. I agree with him on the fact that a large portion of adolescents and emerging adults ascribe to "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." I would, however, like to add that this is not a generation-specific phenomenon. Church goers of all ages have begun to adapt and edit the more traditional views of Christianity to accommodate their chosen lifestyles. As for those who fall into the adolescent category...in my opinion we are suffering the consequences of the sensationalism of churches in the 80's and 90's. (i.e. more show than substance). Things will turn around as soon as churches start preaching the unapologetic gospel again."
Julian Wrote:
"...Youth these days...are as ignorant about religion as they are about almost everything else except their particular line of specialty and pop culture. America has always had a pragmatic bent, but anti-intellectualism has reached its zenith under the modern image-based media domination... You cannot expect them to love and follow something they do not know. The Death of reading--serious intellectual reading--has profound consequences for society. The only real opportunity to get views other then the liberal and atheistic weltanschauung of the media and other elites, is to read, from every age, from every category, from everywhere. I am in my mid-20s. I find your assessment accurate. Humanity...[may] thrive in the sense of longevity, health, comfort, safety, freedom, and opportunities for work and pleasure. But very few will really live, rise above the constraints of social norms and pop culture, and the gratification of the senses and emotions..."
What do you think?
I very much agree with what he said about parents integrating religious faith into everyday life. If I have kids, Deuteronomy 11:18-19 is going to be my theme:
ReplyDelete"Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
I've known so many well-meaning teenagers and young adults who grew up in church and didn't have their questions answered--or adopted the beliefs and are only starting ask questions now that they're faced with college professors and cool atheist kids. They figure since things were never really explained to them, that there is no explanation. And since there is no explanation, there's no reason to exalt Christianity higher than any other belief system.
The end.
That isn't to say that every kid who falls away had neglectful parents. I think the overwhelming culture gets some of them. But I just think if you *are* talking about God all them time, and if you *are* living that out in your own life, and if you *are* explaining how it's all connected... it does a lot. I wish more parents would take their kids' faith seriously.
And I think that, while we all should be growing in our faith continually, parents have an even greater responsibility, because they have little people watching all the time to see whether their faith is real.
This is too long for me to address anything else and feel like I'm not writing the post you didn't write. ;)
Your point about people who don't even BEGIN to question until college or later makes me think of the author's conclusion that kids who have to *suffer* for their faith tend to wind up stronger. The earlier their faith comes under fire, the earlier they have to ask questions, and the earlier they discover biblical Christianity is FULL of explanations and logic. At the very least, this gives us another thing to consider regarding whether to remove kids from scouts, public school, sex ed, etc.....or allow them to encounter lots of opposition.
DeleteThis discussion will continue, hopefully, when I finish the book Eat, Pray, Love and write my conclusions about it. The Author, I think, gives an excellent example of a Moralistic Therapeutic Deist, and she didn't start questioning things until her mid-30's.