USA Today and LifeWay Research center just completed a very extensive study of young adults and religion/spirituality. The headline ran on the front page of the paper two days ago saying, "Young Adults Less Devoted to Faith," which was backed up by what USA Today does SO well: tons of colorful unnecessary graphs!
Basically, today's young adults (called "Millennials") would describe themselves as "spiritual" and not "religious." This quote, which includes the president of LifeWay Research group, is telling:
"Among the 65% who call themselves Christian, 'many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only,' Rainer says. 'Most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith.'"They found that most Millennials (65%) don't pray with other people, don't read their Bible/Sacred text (67%) and don't go to any type of worship service (65%). BUT 65% of all of them claim to be a Christian. I think what Rainer says near the middle of the article is very well stated (his interpretation of the data):
"We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church," Rainer says.It may surprise some of you, but I'm really not the type to freak out about this type of thing. I know there are tousands of moms who are saying something like, "OH GOODNESS WE'RE LOSING ALL OUR KIIIIIIDSSSS!!!!"
But here's the truth: the door is narrow (Luke 13:22-30). I think it is a healthy mindset to desire for churches to be big, for the movement of Christianity to be massive. But the truth is, since the beginning of the Christian movement, and even before that through the history of Judaism, we have seen a large group of people who desire the benefits of Christianity and the God of the Bible without the cost that it so clearly entails.
The cost, though, is more than just going to church and reading a sacred text.
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