“Spiritual but Not Religious”

“Younger people are less religious than older people.”

Across the board, this is generally assumed to be true. Doesn’t really matter what country one observes or what metrics one uses; statistically, research finds that younger generations tend to be less religious than those who have come before.

However, it turns out, what does matter is which religion is being studied and it does matter what we mean by “religious.”

According to recent Pew Research, Christianity not only has the most predominant age gap, in that it affects nearly every country that identifies as Christian, it also has the largest one by percentage meaning there is a larger gap in between the ages than other religions (For more, click here).

“Age gaps are also more common within some religious groups than in others. For example, religion is less important to younger Christian adults in nearly half of all the countries around the world where sample sizes are large enough to allow age comparisons among Christians (37 out of 78).

For Muslims, this is the case in about one-quarter of countries surveyed (10 out of 42). Among Buddhists, younger adults are significantly less religious in just one country (the United States) out of five countries for which data are available.

There is no age gap by this measure among Jews in the U.S. or Israel, or among Hindus in the U.S. or India.¹ (Source)

Pew Research, 2018

The highest retention rates for religions are found in the Hindu, Muslim and Jewish communities.  The lowest retention rates are found in Mainline Protestants, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses and atheism (Source).

Why?

There are so many people asking and answering this question. There’s a lot of research being done not only on why younger generations are leaving their faith and/or their church and why some choose to stay. More precisely, many younger generations are saying, “I still believe in God and Jesus and the Bible, but I don’t want to be called a Christian.” They are opposed to many of the movements that have been labeled as “evangelical” or “Christian” in the past decades and desire to distance themselves from that label and institution.

And that’s where it matters how we define “religious.” Springtide Research has recently released their State of Religion & Young People report for 2023 entitled “Exploring the Sacred.”  In their study, they asked young people to describe their experience with the sacred. In their report, only 15% described their religion as “Nothing at this time.” 

The rest described themselves as religious, but their categories aren’t what we (older generations) might include on our definition of “religion.”  For instance, their categories include things like “Just Christian” which 19% of those surveyed defined themselves as, pointedly steering away from any denomination or organized religious label. Atheist (6%) and Agnostic (6%) shows up but so does “Something Else” often referred to as “Spiritual but Not Religious” by older generations.

In the case of Western Protestant Christians, our definition of religion is often pretty narrow and refers either narrowly to Western Protestant churches or broadly to “The Church” but rarely inclusive of other religions and non-organized religious experience. So it may not be a matter of younger generations not being “religious” but not being associated with organized religion.

Here are some common reasons for younger generations distancing themselves from church.

1. Some stay away from church because they don’t feel like they belong. A study shared by Christianity Today found that about “58 percent of young adults indicated they dropped out because of their church or pastor. When probed further, they said:
   • Church members are judgmental or hypocritical (26%).
   • They didn’t feel connected to the people at their church (20%).
   • Church members were unfriendly and unwelcoming (15%)
   • Religious, ethical or political beliefs (52%)
2. Others leave because their faith or their church was never truly theirs, just something they had to do for their parents or because children’s ministry or youth group was a fun social hangout. “Consider this finding: when students involved in the College Transition Project were asked what it means to be a Christian, 35 percent “gave an answer that didn’t mention Jesus at all.” (Source)
3. Still others leave because they have no relationships the church or a compelling reason to stay.  According to an interview with Dr. Kara Powell of Fuller Youth Institute, “The number one reason why young people are walking away from their faith—it’s a lack of intergenerational worship and relationship” (Source).
4. A more recent development, the perpetuation of conspiracy theories, political agendas, and nationalism within the church. A recent study by Lifeway found that 49% of pastors frequently hear members sharing conspiracy theories and predominantly these belong to the 65+ generation and are part of a predominantly white church (Source). This is a major issue for younger generations who both reject this mixing of church and state and racial divide and also call out conspiracy and nationalism on a regular basis.

Basically, each of these reasons boil down to this:  We need faith communities that are, as Dr. Powell stated another interview, “ruthless about focusing on Jesus [and] realize that Christianity can be awkward and sometimes confusing, but Jesus is always magnetic

We need communities that foster a sense of belonging to something bigger, create space for intergenerational connections that are meaningful and long-lasting, and invite a willingness to engage in conversations of doubt, faith, and culture. 

We can keep moving forward with age-segregated ministries, church services, and programs or we can step back, see the bigger picture, listen to what we are hearing from generations to come, and begin implementing the changes needed to address the concerns listed above all while remaining stalwartly focused on Christ.

For more on these topics, check out the posts below and share your own thoughts in the comments

• Who’s staying?   Those Who Stay: 3 Reasons for NOT Leaving the Church, Millenials are NOT Leaving their Faith.
• Who’s going? Unaffiliated, The Loneliest Generation and the Church’s Role
• What is Age Segregation? Age Segregation and Generational Gap: What do these mean and why does it matter to the church?

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