{"id":1096,"date":"2010-04-29T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2010-04-29T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation.html"},"modified":"2010-04-29T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2010-04-29T00:00:01","slug":"has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation.html","title":{"rendered":"Has the Church Lost the Younger Generation?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A recent front-page story in <i>USA Today<\/i> caught my eye: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/religion\/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm\">&#8220;Survey: 72% of Millennials &#8216;more spiritual than religious.&#8217;<\/a>&#8221; According to a survey produced by LifeWay Christian Resources, the vast majority of 18-to-29-year-olds are &#8220;really more spiritual than religious.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There is more bad news for those of us who care about the future of Christianity, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>65% of Millennials who call themselves Christian are Christian in name only.<\/li>\n<li>65% of Millennials rarely or never pray with others.<\/li>\n<li>65% rarely or never attend worship services<\/li>\n<li>67% don&#8217;t read the Bible or sacred texts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bodie Church\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/94\/import\/photos\/Bodie-church-5.jpg\" class=\"mt-image-right\" style=\"margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px;float: right\" height=\"270\" width=\"360\" \/><\/span>These results are more or less in line with a study produced several months ago by the Pew Forum on Religion &amp; Public Life. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/religion\/2010-02-17-pewyouth17_ST_N.htm\">&#8220;Religion in the Millennial Generation&#8221;<\/a> found that fewer Millenials are attending worship services or identifying with religious groups. (Photo: A deserted church in Bodie, California)<\/p>\n<p>However, the Pew study found that Millennials are not that much different from earlier generations. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>40% of Millennials say that religion is important in their lives (compared to 39% of Boomers at the same ages)<\/li>\n<li>41% of Millennials pray daily (like 42% of Gen Xers as young adults)<\/li>\n<li>53% are &#8220;certain God exists&#8221; (compared to 55% of Gen Xers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, there is clearly a drift of younger folk away from religious involvement, but the picture is not as bleak as it might seem from the press reports of the LifeWay study.<\/p>\n<p>An impressive, thorough investigation of the religious life of young adults can be found in the research of sociologist Christian Smith. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0195371798?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=markdrobertsc-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0195371798\"><i>Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults<\/i><\/a>, published in September 2009, is an in-depth study of the religious life of people aged 18-23. Smith shows that the emerging adults of this generation are not substantially less religious than adults of previous generations. Moreover, he provides a much more nuanced picture of the religious life of young adults. In general, those from conservative religious backgrounds continue to believe and practice their faith, while those from more liberal and mainline traditions do not. I can&#8217;t begin to adequately summarize Smith&#8217;s 368 pages in one paragraph. But if you&#8217;re truly interested in the religious life of young adults, I&#8217;d encourage you to read his fine book.<\/p>\n<p>Has the church lost the younger generation? No. But does is the church in danger of losing touch with younger folk? Absolutely. We have much to learn from those who are studying Millennials, including their faith and practice. We who are older Christians will never be able to reach those who are younger until we know what they&#8217;re thinking and feeling. Thus, I&#8217;m grateful to the folks at Lifeway and Pew, and to scholars such as Christian Smith. They&#8217;re sounding a wake up call for the church. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent front-page story in USA Today caught my eye: &#8220;Survey: 72% of Millennials &#8216;more spiritual than religious.&#8217;&#8221; According to a survey produced by LifeWay Christian Resources, the vast majority of 18-to-29-year-olds are &#8220;really more spiritual than religious.&#8221; There is more bad news for those of us who care about the future of Christianity, such&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-life"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Has the Church Lost the Younger Generation? - Mark D. 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Roberts","og_description":"A recent front-page story in USA Today caught my eye: &#8220;Survey: 72% of Millennials &#8216;more spiritual than religious.&#8217;&#8221; According to a survey produced by LifeWay Christian Resources, the vast majority of 18-to-29-year-olds are &#8220;really more spiritual than religious.&#8221; There is more bad news for those of us who care about the future of Christianity, such&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2010-04-29T00:00:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/files\/import\/photos\/Bodie-church-5.jpg"}],"author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/has-the-church-lost-the-younger-generation.html","name":"Has the Church Lost the Younger Generation? - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}