Religion and American Young Adults
The most comprehensive research on young people and religion in America has been completed, and much of what it shares is a warning for Christianity. The project is called the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) and has been funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., the University of Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters, and the John Templeton Foundation. The study covers ages 13 through 29 over a decade long period of research and focuses in on a number of key characteristics of religious life among young adults. Christian Smith, Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, leads this project as well as the two books written on this recent study, Soul Searching: The Religious Lives of American Teenagers and Souls in Transition: The Religious & Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults.
In Souls in Transition, Smith taps into four main themes that reveal the thinking and beliefs of emerging adults. These "macro social changes" are seen as the catalyst in young Americans shifting religious culture. These changes can be found in the dramatic growth in higher education, the delay of marriage for American young people (this is not exclusive to America but also seen in other developed Western cultures), an unstable world wide economic system, and the longevity involvement of parents particularly in the area of financial support. Souls in Transition mainly deals with 18 to 23 year old with the intention in the future of publishing their findings of late young adult years (ages 24 to 29).
Why should Christians read these books? Well, the conclusion that you may come away with is that the Church in America is not only misunderstanding this emerging culture but is not prepared to engage with them. You won't read that in Smith's writings but you can't miss the obvious outcome from their work. The research is not intended to make the Church feel bad or hopeless about the situation but it is a wake up call for churches to take notice of the changing landscape of young adults attitudes towards Christianity. Churches today can still be a vital part in young peoples lives as they live Christ out. It may take awhile and a new vision from God in connecting with this mission field but there is hope for those that see God still engaging in this world.
In Souls in Transition, Smith taps into four main themes that reveal the thinking and beliefs of emerging adults. These "macro social changes" are seen as the catalyst in young Americans shifting religious culture. These changes can be found in the dramatic growth in higher education, the delay of marriage for American young people (this is not exclusive to America but also seen in other developed Western cultures), an unstable world wide economic system, and the longevity involvement of parents particularly in the area of financial support. Souls in Transition mainly deals with 18 to 23 year old with the intention in the future of publishing their findings of late young adult years (ages 24 to 29).
Why should Christians read these books? Well, the conclusion that you may come away with is that the Church in America is not only misunderstanding this emerging culture but is not prepared to engage with them. You won't read that in Smith's writings but you can't miss the obvious outcome from their work. The research is not intended to make the Church feel bad or hopeless about the situation but it is a wake up call for churches to take notice of the changing landscape of young adults attitudes towards Christianity. Churches today can still be a vital part in young peoples lives as they live Christ out. It may take awhile and a new vision from God in connecting with this mission field but there is hope for those that see God still engaging in this world.
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on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 4:57 AM.
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