Young Americans Losing Their Religion In Staggering Numbers: New Research

ABC News:

New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church -- or to participate in any form of organized religion -- than their parents and grandparents.

Read the whole story: ABC News

Comments

[Mark Koltko-Rivera]

The piece is titled, “Young Americans Losing Their Religion.” However, what the Pew study really shows is that more people have no affiliation to religious groups (churches, synagogues, etc.). These young people are not “losing” their religion, so much as they never had religion to start with.

This should be no surprise. For years, many organized religions in America failed to engage their members in meaningful religious education beyond adolescence. That’s a problem: personal faith that is “frozen” in development at adolescence often cannot cope with the demands of adult life. This leaves family tradition, community ties, and habit as forces that kept many people tied to the religious groups they were raised in.

However, the influence of tradition and community waned as people began to move around the country a great deal more, after World War II. Some kept a nominal religious affiliation, but did not seriously involve their own children in any particular religious group. Now their descendants have no real ties to any religious organization.

This presents a great opportunity for religious groups to make significant outreach efforts to those who define their religion as “none of the above”—the so-called “religious ‘nones’.” At best, this would mean offering spiritual education to help people face life’s issues on a mature spiritual level—more mature than what adolescents learn in classes to prepare for Christian Confirmation, Jewish Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and so forth. But will the religious groups of America make these efforts?

[Zofomofo]

Most affiliations are inherited. When you inherit one and take a survey and say you don't have one, that is losing your religion.

It is not a great opportunity for religious groups, it is a symptom of their failed, primitive world view.

The more "Mature" ones world view the less religious one becomes by definition, you don't need daddys rules when you grow up. What is frozen is the teachings. The only way they can survive is to update the teachings to become less fundemental and therefore less gropu oriented and therefore returning the focus to the individuals maturity verses some mythological excuse to do the right thing.

Bottom line religion should die and allow reason to flourish. I do believe there is a place for the art of Shamanism and spirituality, but as an art not a religion. More akin to psychology, Buddhism and art than belief, dogma and tradition.

[ThankGodforAtheists]

"This data is likely to reinvigorate an already heated debate about whether America is, or will continue to be, a "Christian nation."

BIG NEW COMING IN --------------- IT NEVER WAS. It is a nation for all religions and for the "nones"

[Zofomofo]

It was a nation of Freemasons as much as Christians.

[dutt]

Here are the problems I have with much faith in America:

-The god so many Americans pray to seems a petty, spiteful god.

-Morality is paid lip service but not practiced. In fact the faithful often seem the most ethically challenged. There is a great weakness in those who need the threat of eternal damnation and reward of eternal salvation to do the right thing.

-Faith as practiced in America is so often at odds with science and can't reconcile with it.

I have no faith but I continually search. I am okay with acknowledging that I will probably always have more questions than answers. The one thing I probably most miss from not embracing a faith is being part of a community.

[JohnJames]

Well said.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Join the Unitarian Universalists and be part of their community.

[lesterbud]

Young people are catching on.

Religion did not begin with people asking where they came from, why they were here, what's it all about and what happens after. Religion started with entrepreneurs seeing people asking those questions and realizing there was great profit to be made from them. You can create an intangible product with no cost to manufacture, sell it to masses of eager customers at nearly pure profit, then "guaranty" them 100% satisfaction after they are dead. GENIUS! Perhaps a bit unethical to prey upon those who habitually pray, but didn't hold them back much.

The measure of success? More franchises than there are fast-food chains, with even more local outlets.

Sure, there have been some rather ugly confrontations between competitors in this market, somewhat akin to drug dealers protecting their turf but at a much larger scale, but that is to be expected with so much money in play.

[boldtimer]

Author Naomi Klein did an interview on Women On The Web this week and several issues were discussed. Ms. Klein did comment that one of her hot button issues was the rise of class as the sole determining factor of individual value. Much of this comes out of the current educational system that has surrendered true accademic persuits to access ever growing profit from a production line educational system that produces an official certification that indicates compliance with corporate philosophy. For the most part, we have exchanged religious doctrin for one that is more compatible with our personal economic goals which has resulted in a class dividing line that is creating a permanent under class in this country. As dangerous as religion has sometimes proven to be throughout history, an economic system without integrity and compassion, essentially without a soul, will take us somewhere that we don't even want to contemplate !

[GodIs]

The decline in American piety can be directly attributed to the extensive reading of so-called "science" fiction by our young people, a poisonous rot about creatures not of God's making, societies of aliens without a good Christian among them, and rawsex between unhuman beings with three heads.

[lesterbud]

Oh you are just darling.

I bet people just line up outside your cave just to be near you.

[JohnJames]

Nor can much be said in favor of our youth's inclination to "thrillers". Such literature can only serve to seduce the young mind, tempting the innocent to a life of iniquity.

[Disuberence]

You've gotta be kidding, right? In the eyes of some of these people George Lucas IS god.
I know I prefer "science" fiction to the fiction in the bible.

[pinkindie]

Hmmmmm...Does REM know?

[lesterbud]

This statistic makes me even more hopeful than the polls showing the rapid decline of the GOP - although the two observations are likely strongly linked.

This country needs to regain its competitive advantages again. A generation or two ago, our country led the world in scientific education and subsequently delivered the world micro-electronics, biotechnology, new energy technologies, communications technologies and, yes, even military technology.

With the exception of Biotechnology and the Military, we have largely abdicated our leadership positions in most technology areas - other countries saw our methods and doubled-down in their efforts to command these areas.

I sure hope young people in the US are really turning-on to science and it becomes "cool" to be smart once more. Kids - stop looking at institutions, such as organized religion, that give solace to the intellectually lazy and socially fearful. Make your own way and actually contribute to the world.

[Ascoli]

Could it be they see the hypocracy in most religions ?
Maybe they'll be spiritual instead of 'religious'.

[lesterbud]

Maybe they will be fact-based instead of either - they will be much happier and far more productive to society.

[Mauiloa]

This poll gives me great hope for the future of humanity...and for the world.

The rejection of organized religion has been in full swing in Western Europe for quite awhile and interestingly enough, humanitarian principles are much more in evidence in those countries, whereas we still struggle with a 16th Century Puritan ethic that holds no meaning in today's world.

This, and the misinterpretation of the Bible to promote inhumane attitudes and ideas has made our country a pariah morally and ethically.

The Bush years were the perfect example of the disconnect between what Christianity should be about and what it has descended into. Young people have the right - and the obligation - to reject attitudes that are antithetical to their own just because they are espoused by so-called religious and political leaders.

I applaud those who use their "God-given" minds and not just regurgitate ideas implanted when they were children.

[wadenelson1]

The true fundamentals are love, forgiveness, gratitude, acceptance, non-judgementalness, charity, and.... did I say "love?"

Virtually every major religion emphasizes these, yet "fundamentalists" take something out of context and decide IT is the fundamental issue for them. Like gay sex, or abortion. Or jihad.

Read all the angry Huffcomments. Virtually every one is the same, they hate the "judgementalness and hypocrisy" of the church, or some church member they encountered along the way.

Or the person is "too smart" to believe in an imaginary bearded guy in some parallel dimension.

Or they judge the ENTIRE Catholic church as a moneymaking machine full of pedophiles when in fact it's more like .00000001%. What happened to "do not judge?"

Guess what. You are too smart to believe in that. But you're not too smart to see that the way to heaven, the path to HAPPINESS, is through love, forgiveness, acceptance, non-judgementalness...

Heaven is 'AT HAND" jesus taught. It is not worrying about where you go AFTER YOU DIE.

You are not a Christian because you go to church on Sunday mornings, anymore than you are a CAR if you go stand in the garage. You are a Christian if you accept, and adhere the teachings of Jesus Christ. Or Buddha. Or Ghandi. or ANYONE ELSE who taught the FUNDAMENTALS of

Love, forgive, accept, do not judge, give unto others.

http://www.wadenelson.com/love.html

[bluerthanblue15]

"Or the person is "too smart" to believe in an imaginary bearded guy in some parallel dimension.'

Just curious: Who indeed --told you-- that there is an 'imaginary guy' somewhere up there??
And, yes, people's idea of god does grow and evolve, and away from a santa claus image. My pity goes to those who ---must--- retain that image.

[ESerafina42]

Not only the fundamentalists are to blame for this trend, but the media as a whole, since any time they have someone giving the "religious" point of view they tend to show (for Protestants) a Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson type, (for Catholics) someone like Bill Donohue who's even to the right of the Vatican, or (for Jews) an Orthodox rabbi. Evidently as far as they're concerned, either the "religious left" doesn't exist or it has no validity.

[MomfromTexas]

I'd like to see a lot of polls done with the age group between 18-30. How many are pro-choice? Support gun control? Immigration reform? Gay/lesbian marriage? Affiliate themselves with a particular political party? If so, which one? Some polls I have seen indicate that this new generation of voters is the most liberal generation we have ever had. Personally, I suspect the culture wars of my generation are one of the main reasons. They're tired of listening to the arguments. Segregation, increased college education, television, travel, and the internet freely opening up communication across cultures, both in this country and internationally, are the other reasons. As a middle-aged person, I am quite intriqued to see these changes, and I look forward to seeing how this generation will change the country in the future.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"We're all the time inventing new religions and reinventing religions that we have."

Good idea. They can start by reinventing their Bible, LOVING their neighbor, and PRACTICING what they PREACH.

[joemondo]

Fundamentalists have built so many unpalatable standards into their religions, it's no wonder so many turn away from them.

They've taken what at its best was a unifying thing that could help people live together, and turned it into nothing but an obsession with death and minding other people's business.

It takes time, but these things work themselves out.