Posted on 04/27/2010 4:45:03 PM PDT by TaraP
Though a majority of teens and young adults identify as Christian, a new study suggests that only 15 percent of them have personal relationships with Christ and are deeply committed....
Most American "Millenials" – those born between 1980 and 1991 – don't pray regularly. Few read their Bibles or other religious texts, and many don't attend church on a weekly basis, according to a LifeWay Research study.
"[W]e cannot forget the vast majority of lost young people in this generation. Our hearts should be broken with this reality," said Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. "We should be convicted if we do not yet have a heavy burden to reach this generation."
Sixty-five percent of Millennials called themselves a Christian in the study that was conducted on 1,200 young Americans in August 2009. But Rainer estimates that 85 percent of young people are lost.
"Many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only," Rainer told USA Today. "Most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith."
According to the study, one-third of all Millennials agreed strongly that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. Nearly a quarter agreed somewhat Rainer, who has been researching the younger generation for an upcoming book, has hope in the few who are deeply committed Christians.
"Millennial Christians will not settle for business as usual in our churches," he said. "They will not be content with going through the motions, programs without a purpose, and spectator Christianity. They take their faith seriously, and they have little patience with churches that focus most of their resources on the members."
While most surveyed young people believe Christian churches are relevant today, only 28 percent agreed strongly.
Half of those who trust Christ as Savior, and 67 percent who self-identified as "Christian" indicated they do not attend worship services on a weekly basis.
More than half (56 percent) of self-identified Christians rarely or never read the Bible and 38 percent rarely or never pray by themselves.
Notably, almost three out of four Millennials agreed that they are more spiritual than religious. Even those who trust Christ as Savior were particularly likely to describe themselves as more spiritual than religious (74 percent).
The study noted that the popular SBNR label "is no longer a term that means 'I don't have any particular beliefs but believe in spirituality in general.'"
Forty-four percent of self-identified Christians agreed strongly that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Among those who trust Christ as Savior, 81 percent agreed strongly. Only 16 percent of young people who don't attend religious worship services indicated the same strength of accord.
Moreover, 26 percent of Christians agreed strongly that salvation is through God's grace alone.
In other findings, only a quarter agreed strongly that the Bible is the written word of God and is totally accurate in all that it teaches. Only 30 percent strongly believe Jesus Christ was sinless. And the most common belief among Millenials about life after death is that "no one really knows."
"Millennials are the most religiously diverse generation in our culture’s history," Rainer said. "Unsure of the afterlife and the life of Jesus, Millennials present the church with a great opportunity to engage them in conversations dealing with the nature of truth and its authority as God."
But then there is the JPII generation, which is something to behold, indeed.
Heard about this on the radio this morning... the consensus was that the millennials worship themselves.
Homosexuality, Abortion on demand, Worship of Celebrity, Broken Homes, Vanity, Self Absorption, Entitlement is what today’s Paris Hilton Lindsay Lohan Generation is exposed to..
Very sad.....
you left out porn, video games and iPods.
They will all be praying by the time this Depression is over.
I would add a "/s" tag, but it's probably true...
The intended effects of liberalism.
This is the inevitable result of the removal of God from public life and institutions, and it is indeed heartbreaking.
MM (in TX)
40 years of public school leftist indoctrination has taken its toll.
This explains a lot of what I see in folks in their 20s-30s these days. Unbelieveable - if it isn’t about them, it is irrelevant. I call them generation N (for “narcissist”)
I have some (guarded) hope for the generation following that one - the ones who will be the next batch of new voters for 2012. If my son’s friends (public and private schools) are any sign, they lean conservative. I have been seeing more and more kids like this. My son is conservative for sure, he is VERY upset at what the rats are doing to his future. We butt heads on most everything else but in faith and politics he and I see eye to eye.
Part of it, at least around here is it seems parents seem much more involved in schools and children’s education than they were previously, including a huge number of homeschoolers (almost 1.3 million kids now). It seemed brand new when we first started in the 90s.
I hope it’s not just local and is a movement among young folks
What could you expect? Christian leaders have passively accepted the assault on Christianity in our society for generations. I hear Evangelical pastors quoting scripture that states that we must support our leaders (Obama the Muslim), and stay out of politics.
In my church I have seen Christian children grow up, finish high school and go off to the universities. I have also been aware of all of the prayer requests for the children who rejected Christianity.
There has been a planned, concerted effort to turn America into a secularist nation. It can’t be a surprise that Christians are the only group in America that can be vilified in the media and in the schools.
Try insulting a minority member. Or a Muslim. So who in their right mind can be surprised that young Americans are rejecting Christianity?
Generation “N”?! Yes. That nails it.
I dunno.
We have quite a few Millennials in our Orthodox parish. They receive Holy Communion every week, so I imagine they are preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries by the same prayers, fasting, and Confession that we do. Some are also in the choir and/or are Readers.
It’s hard not to be a real Christian if you are a regular Orthodox. Our real problem is that we don’t reach out to the community to bring in people who are without Christ—i.e., most of the people in our Blue State.
Very sad news indeed.
Maybe we need to knock on doors (and I am including myself in that). The various cults do it a lot.
But they've got all that self esteem.
The recent scandals involving catholic priests aren’t exactly a P.R. dream scenario either.
I am delighted that the two Crusher children are devout small “o” orthodox Christians of the Anglican persuasion (as opposed the Episcopalians, who are the liturgical wing of Comintern). But then, Mrs Crusher and I refused to let the government indoctrination center touch them, and we unapologetically raised them in the faith.
Jesus IS everything; and I was born in 1980; until recently, I was a “mushy Christian”..! -J. S.
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