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Quarter-life crisis or just Tough Choices - Quarter-life crisis or just Touch Choices |
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Written by Erin Frustaci and McClatchy Tribune
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Thursday, 16 November 2006 |
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Page 3 of 5
Young adults don't like religious labels
McClatchy-Tribune
 Melanie Juli considers herself a committed Jew. But she doesn’t keep kosher. Or observe the Sabbath.
The Florida college student has never had her bat mitzvah, a right of passage into adulthood.
“It’s not about going to church or temple,” said Juli, 22. “It’s about being a good person.”
Is Juli a walking contradiction? Wishy-washy? Confused?
Not if you ask many 20-somethings, studies show. Regardless of faith, today’s young adults generally don’t like attending traditional worship services, where their numbers are down. And they shy away from labels, increasingly identifying with no specific religion or, if they are Christian, calling themselves non-denominational.
Yet in conversations and in academic surveys, Generations X and Y still demonstrate an overwhelming belief in God and an interest in how all things spiritual relate to their lives and the world around them, particularly since Sept. 11, 2001.
Many reject dogma and large institutions; they are reaching out for personal and convenient ways to find answers.
They send prayer e-mails, join small ministry groups, and help fuel an industry of spiritually inspired books, movies and music.
About 80 percent of college students say they believe in God, according to a 2005 University of California study. But more than a third of adults 18 to 29 don’t identify with one religion in particular, and another quarter classify themselves as nondenominational Christians, according to a 2001 American Religious Identification survey.
Their aversion to labels is simple. Many see religion as a personal relationship they can tailor to their needs.
Some young adults turning toward religion also consider themselves backlash babies, rebelling against an American culture obsessed with sex and money, or against parents who never gave them direction.
Diego Rieger, 25, a computer technician in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said he has recently become more religious than his parents in reaction to the “very cold, materialistic” way he saw his life headed.
“With the Internet generation, everything is so fast and so impersonal,” he said. “People are trying to find something that has meaning.”
This worries some, like Tim Elmore, president and founder of Growing Leaders, a faith-based leadership group in Atlanta.
“There is a huge number that will say, 'I want a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A little bit of Buddhism and a little bit of Jesus,’” Elmore said. “They have been preached tolerance with a capital T so much that there is no critical thinking going on. Having an unexamined OKness with everything can be very damaging.”
Studies have long found that once young people marry and have kids, they are more likely to return to traditional religious institutions and practices, said Nancy Ammerman, professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University.
In the meantime, while they are discovering who they are, research shows religion is mostly likely to strike a chord with them if it does so on a more personal level, according to a survey by Reboot, a New York-based nonprofit organization. This includes college ministry clubs that are smaller and less formal and worship that is individualized and on demand, such as talking to friends about God, praying, or sending out an inspirational e-mail.
One of the best-known college groups is the conservative Campus Crusade for Christ, which in the past decade has more than doubled its ranks, now with more than 55,000 active student members at 1,298 campuses.
At Palm Beach Atlantic University, a private Christian college, a group of students called Hallowed surf and hold worship services on the beach.
“God created the beach, so I really feel Him there,” said Jordan Walker, 21.
Andrew Resnick, 25, wanted to stay connected with Jewish friends once everyone went off to college. So he and a friend started a Web site, Jewstar.com, where they could chat and post photos. The social networking site has taken off and expanded its mission. It now has 40,000 users and offers political and religious features, including an “Ask a Rabbi” message board and world news articles.
“I just talked to the rabbi the other day, and he said he sometimes he gets questions that are eight pages long,” Resnick said.
Andrew Piccolo, 25, opened a Christian nightclub in downtown Fort Lauderdale, so he and his friends had a positive environment to hang out in. He named it the Godfather’s Palace, as in God the Father. There is no alcohol, but music pumps until 2 a.m. some weekends. Hip-hop and reggae pour from the speakers, but the lyrics talk about love and Christ instead of rims and pimps.
“I always wondered, why is it that Christians don’t have a place to go?” Piccolo said. “My generation’s cry was, 'Here we are now, entertain us.’”
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