The Lukewarm Generation

Sociologist Christian Smith contends that most religious teens in the U.S. have very little appreciation or regard for the theological and doctrinal particulars of their own religious traditions but did believe that God exists, loves them, wants them to follow the Golden Rule, and comforts them in the midst of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence. Moreover, Smith argued, most teens, including teens who were regular churchgoers, believed that all religious traditions are functionally equivalent, and that they provide spiritual succor, moral guidance, and emotional support in about equal measures. This, then, is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism; and, as Smith pointed out, it has proved enormously useful to American adolescents because it allows them to navigate the increasingly pluralistic milieu of the United States without stepping on the religious sensitivities of their peers or violating the tolerant conventions of the larger society.

In his latest book, Souls in Transition: The Religious & Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, Smith revisits the spiritual state of his respondents as young adults aged 18 to 23, at a life stage that is now called “emerging adulthood” in the social sciences. In a sense, not much has changed among the emerging adults Smith discusses in this new book. Young adults from more sectarian religious communities still do comparatively better when it comes to outcomes such as church attendance and orthodox religious belief, and most emerging adults still seem to subscribe to a form of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

Thanks for posting.

I’m guessing based on the geographic distribution of Muslims and SCientoligists in this country that the vast majority of teens have not had direct contact with the actual daily existence and social constructs of Muslim and lunatic adherents.

Equivalence between a church on the east side of town versus the church in the city center is valid, right?

Most places are not like North NJ and SoCal, where we have dozens of religions and 100’s of denominations living in close proximity.

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/03/the-lukewarm-generation
“”...What is to be done? Smith does not provide any easy answers to this question in Souls in Transition. He does, however, offer some excellent advice to parents and religious leaders about how they can steer today’s children away from the lukewarm lives being lived by contemporary emerging adults. According to Smith’s analyses, children are more likely to end up as committed and consistent young-adult believers if their parents integrate religious faith into daily family life; if children are exposed to engaging adult believers in their churches; if they have good religious friends; if they live chaste lives; and, interestingly, if they have to suffer for their faith. Smith notes that adolescents who were “made fun of by peers for [their] religious faith” were more likely to end up as serious believers as young adults. In other words, family, friends, sex, and suffering will have a lot to do with how successful the next generation of young people will be in avoiding the lukewarm path being trod by many of today’s emerging adults.
“”

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Searching-Religious-Spiritual-Teenagers/dp/0195384776?tag=firstthings-20-20
“Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers”

http://www.amazon.com/Souls-Transition-Religious-Spiritual-”Emerging/dp/0195371798?tag=firstthings-20-20
“Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults”

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