I appreciate the helpful responses I have received from some of you, mostly by email, addressing the question of why so few young people attend church (or any other religious practice). I think it only fair, and useful to me, to pull my thoughts together on this subject, taking into account the help that I have received. So here are some thoughts, in no particular order.
1. The defection of youth from religion (and especially mainline Protestantism) is not just a subjective impression. Data from a recent respected survey by the Pew Research Center for Religion and Public Life document it as fact. You can look at their website if you are interested. But why?
2. Most important: many of them have no tradition to forsake. Their parents were either only nominally affiliated (the great defections began, like everything else it seems, in the 1960's , expanded in the 1970's, and have continued ever since), or not affiliated at all. So many younger people have never gone to church. It's like asking why they don't play polo, or canasta.What?
3. Still, a good many of them (including some I know every well) went to church regularly as children. So what happened to them? Here are some answers:
a. they never liked it. Sunday School was boring. The youth group, if there was one, was lame. None of their friends went to church, and they liked those kids a lot better.
b. Other activities on Sunday took precedence.
c. Certainly their college friends never went to church. In fairness, they may have tried it out a couple of times, but it just wasn't what was happening on Sunday morning.
d. The religious students they knew at school or college were few and not congenial. Christian groups at college seemed very evangelical, weird, and unappealing.
e. They developed friend groups - a kind of community, - that added to their lives. Church wasn't necessary.
f. Although they respect that some religious people do good things and have both good morals and good minds, religion doesn't seem necessary for either. Add to that their impression that religion has been responsible for a lot of evils in the world, and has as often been on the wrong side of things as on the right side, so maybe it's better just to opt out - except on ceremonial occasions with family or certain friends on unusual occasions, or maybe holidays.
g. Life gets very busy. Full, in fact. Sabbath is a great idea. Let's go have bagels or brunch with friends. That seems like a better use of time . And it feeds my soul.
h. I have nothing against religion really - but I don't have a lot for it either. So hey.
That pretty much summarizes it. In my next post, I will try to make a case for church attendance. Stay tuned.
You need only a little church exposure to be fairly confident you're not likely to see or find anything new in another one. Some people get a lot out of the experience, and more power to them. But most people don't and shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteThe overwhelming majority of worship in American churches is mostly a social experience. (What was that remark you made about judging a church service based on the coffee hour afterwards?) This is primarily beneficial for persons who feel or are wounded or oppressed. It is mostly wearying for people who are competent, confident, and/or cognitively engaged.