 |
|
|
|
|
July 27th, 2013
08:33 AM ET
Why millennials are leaving the church
(CNN) - At 32, I barely qualify as a millennial. I wrote my first essay with a pen and paper, but by the time I graduated from college, I owned a cell phone and used Google as a verb. I still remember the home phone numbers of my old high school friends, but don’t ask me to recite my husband’s without checking my contacts first. I own mix tapes that include selections from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but I’ve never planned a trip without Travelocity. Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I’m often asked to speak to my fellow evangelical leaders about why millennials are leaving the church. Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness. I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough questions and wrestling with doubt. Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need hipper worship bands. …” And I proceed to bang my head against the podium. Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates - edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving. But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances. In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular. Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions - Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. - precisely because the ancient forms of liturgy seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and we find that refreshingly authentic. What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance. We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against. We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers. We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation. We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities. We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers. You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there. Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus. Now these trends are obviously true not only for millennials but also for many folks from other generations. Whenever I write about this topic, I hear from forty-somethings and grandmothers, Generation Xers and retirees, who send me messages in all caps that read “ME TOO!” So I don’t want to portray the divide as wider than it is. But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community. Their answers might surprise you. Rachel Held Evans is the author of "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." She blogs at rachelheldevans.com. The views expressed in this column belong to Rachel Held Evans. soundoff (9,864 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 Next »
Next entry »Massive crowd attends prayer service with pope
« Previous entryPope Francis tells youth that faith cures discontent
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Opinion by Rachel Held Evans, Special to CNN
what church are they leaving? and who are these millennials? why would I want them going to my church anyway? we don't allow aliens.
All: I think you are mistaken if you think that only stupid people believe in God. We run the gambit, I suppose. I have compiled a summary of C.S. Lewis's conversion experience, that you may find here:
http://www.bigtruth.net/2013/09/17/the-conversion-of-c-s-lewis/
I hope you find it helpful.
–WI
No but on average atheist IQ is 7 points higher. That is not insignificant.
Not too surprising. Read 1 Cor 1:26-27. A big head is about as impressive to God as big muscles. Actually, what matters most is a big heart.
The "smartest" demographic (if you believe IQ scores) is the Ashkenazi Jews. Average IQ of 117, 17 points higher than average.
Yes Jews and Mormons seem to lead the religious heap w.r.t. intelligence, however, that does not disprove that overall, atheists are more intelligent than theists. An exception does not disprove the rule.
Your comment about what "god" cares about is meaningless to the discussion.
Actually the reason I mentioned the Ashkenazi Jews was not to prove or disprove anything. It was just an interesting fact. We don't even know how many of those Jews are religious vs. secular.
If God exists, then what God cares about is very relevant, if we're talking about religion. And I understand you don't share that belief. But not everyone in this discussion agrees. So what God cares about is not irrelevant to the whole discussion, just to you.
A more accurate phrasing of your comment would have been:
"Your comment about what 'god' cares about is meaningless *to me*."
Having a high IQ is useless if you are not logically consistent : )
It does not matter perhaps how big of a difference the IQ is. Important are things like whether a leader of a country decides to go to war or not based on what his "god" tells him. Non-religious tend to make decisions based on logic and common sense rather than whether or not they are going to hell or pleasing their church.
My father's !Q is 156, mines not bad either! He was an Atheist until he was 30 but when he became convinced of something greater he became a believer in God. So I guess you are saying that all Atheists have higher IQ's than his? My dad is very analytical and logical. So to say all Christians are simple minded is ludicrous!
No but the one responding does not appear to bright and frankly I doubt his dad has a 156IQ. A child of someone that bright would know the meaning of "on average" and would not try to disprove an average by quoting one isolated event. I could just as easily point out that most of the super high IQ people in the world are NOT theists.
a believer,
You don't "run the gambit".
"Running the gamut" means covering an entire range (of colors, ideas, types, etc.).
A "gambit" is a scheme, maneuver or tactic.
But Christians do run a scheme ;P
I am filled with righteous indignation! Atheists, who supposedly have manners and compassion, are here attacking a wonderful christian as he grieves the loss of his son. Outrageous. No thank you. You can have atheists!
Wrong thread. Do try to stay with the program. Christian really is meaningless in that context as well.
I decide where and what to post. Agreed? Point being, so, buzz off.
No not agreed. This thread was about a different topic to which you posted which is not okay. You wrote an inflamed post that was not warranted which again, was not okay.
You judge all atheists by the actions of a few, then ask us not to do the same? Hypocrite!
Let's take that to task. A "wonderful Christian". I thought all men were equal in god's eyes? I guess I misread that as it seems some are more equal than others. That wonderful Christian has amassed great personal wealth by spreading god's word. I don't see him living the life of a pauper, do you?
I will not discount that him and his wife have done great altruistic work. Does that make him any better a christian than the man or woman working 60 hours a week at Walmart and the local pizza place to ensure his 4 kids have a roof over their head and food on the table? According to your religion, no, it does not, not at all.
You may consider him a great man, that is christian but please understand the difference between that and a great christian.
I have empathy for anyone that loses a child, but that said, while he keeps preaching lies, I will keep attacking him for doing it. A loss or tragedy (we all have them), does not absolve one of ones ongoing actions. The fact he believes those lies does not give him a free pass to keep spreading them. You may feel those lies are positive, or harmless, but as we look at the world around us, we see far too often the divisiveness of religion and its ability to foster hatred, give cause and justification to people to act out on that hatred, and give people absolution from their behavior.
I will not stand by and watch that idly.
Chicks drinking from over-sized coffee cups bugs me.
You probably would not enjoy "Alice in Wonderland" then
I think one of the greatest things that makes Christianity loose value over time is that its texts are frozen. Why does the story of God stop before AD 100? It doesn't actually, but no one wants to go there. Where is the meaningful experience of God today and in the recent past? If we could even pick out a canon of inspired texts moving forward up to about one-hundred years ago, what a much deeper richer experience of truth that would be...
We have recorded history now. That would require actually telling the truth.
History is good but inspired fiction is better. Still history is an excellent source for inspired texts. For instance, just to perhaps give you better idea of the range of work I would recommend to an expanded canon, why not add Jonathan Spense's God's Chinese Son? This story is truly stranger than fiction. What does it tell us about Christian faith? This book describes a man who claims to have a vision and then presumably sees that vision grow into truth and then diminish again into corruption.
Or why not include an inspired retelling of the gospel? A Catholic priest once recommended that I read Nikos Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ? Why not this book? Why not Eli Wiesel's Night?
The truth of what is possible is as important as the truth of what has happened. To imagine a possibility beyond what is known to be possible or practical can be uniquely liberating and motivating.
I don't mind "going there".
In my experience, most people who have not had personal contact with God are either (1) not looking for it (possibly because they don't think it's possible) or (2) looking to control or manipulate God for their own purposes, instead of looking to truly understand God as he is. It also helps to approach God the way he wants to be appoached...through Jesus Christ.
But God's real alright. Everyone just needs to find out for themselves.
Or you're projecting your own personal beliefs onto everyone else as reality, which makes you a gigantic curmudgeon.
I may be a curmudgeon, but once you've experienced supernatural things first hand (both God and satanic), you don't see the world the same way again. Not interested in "projecting by beliefs" or philosophical debate, just telling it like I've seen it.
Things we do not understand or more likely interpret inaccurately are not supernatural .... they are things we do not understand or interpret accurately. Even if there was an imprint of a formerly living being on the universe somehow, something you would call a "spirit", "ghost" , "etc.", this is no way at all provides proof or even suggests proof or existence of "god".
d) There is no god, never was, never going to be.
If I am mistaken you just said you knew what god is thinking .... which in most religions is really wrong. It is hard to argue with people who do not even know their own faith.
To be accurate...I don't know what God is "thinking", I just know what he "said"
That you do not know either as the bible was not written by "god".
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree : )
Understand your post. You might try this: knowforyourself.squarespace.com
Rachel's critique of the evangelical church raises valid points. But it would be more helpful to describe what the church *should* be like, instead of just pointing out all the flaws. Like I've had people tell me, stop just pointing out all my mistakes...and show me how to do it right!
And I forgot to say that with regard to a truce between science and faith. Well this ain't gonna happen, it's very naive for Rachel to think that the church should embrace evolution. This is impossible when the bible teaches the world was created in 6 24 hour days by God. The problem lies with science that has been hijacked with evolutionists (atheists clothed as scientists), intelligence design has made inroads recently, but as long as evolution rules biology we should expect a war with religion.
Bring it on ....
@Bill
You said, "And I forgot to say that with regard to a truce between science and faith. Well this ain't gonna happen"
You are right about there not being a chance for a truce between science and religion as long as there are idiots that insist on their religious nonsense being equivalent.
Religion is like a drawing of a clock when it comes to its ability to tell us about the natural world. It will occasionally be correct and indicate the right time, but if that happens it will always be by accident, and you'll never know when it's right.
Science, on the other hand, is more like a real clock. It may not always give us an exact answer, but it will be close. And just as with clocks, we keep tinkering with science and improving it. With science progress is inevitable.
Science has improved from a sun dial to an atomic clock, while religion is still staring at a drawing.
You said, "it's very naive for Rachel to think that the church should embrace evolution."
You are probably correct. The sheer number of the ignorant will make it take a very long time before every church will embrace reality.
You said, "This is impossible when the bible teaches the world was created in 6 24 hour days by God."
You have to get past the bullshit first.
You said, "The problem lies with science that has been hijacked with evolutionists"
No, not really. The problem lies entirely with religion. Religion relies on ignorance to retain its membership. Once people start to think for themselves and embrace reality, they may come to the natural conclusion that all of it is complete nonsense. In the long run, embracing reality is a losing battle for religion.
You said, "intelligence design has made inroads recently, but as long as evolution rules biology we should expect a war with religion."
Unfortunately true. Until we eradicate the movement that wants to keep our children stupid, expect the sane part of society to fight back against the religious intrusion into science.
WELL SAID!
I could not have said it better myself lin, quite literally, this seems like an A+ and I would have given about a B
Couldn't agree more!
People are afraid and don't want to believe this life is it. Believing in an imaginary friend makes everything better. As long as church leaders keep telling the flock to only listen to them and not to question, people will be in the dark. It's brain washing, and church leaders should be charged for mentally hijacking these poor people. More people need to stand up for and come in the open about their non-beliiefs.
Science has rules ... religion has none. You can meld religion to look like anything.
Take a look at Lee Strobel's books – Case for a Creator, Case for Faith, and Case for Christ – you'll be surprised at how compatible Christianity is with science
Godless Vagabond
Not if you're a scientist.
Only if you're delusional... Sorry, but – not a chance.
.... or... it could be that milennials have [FINALLY] moved passed religion.
"We" is a big work when talking about the Church. There's no such thing. Everyman for himself on this one. Jesus walked with 12 guys. Everything else was gravy. Why should we expect anything more than an intimate few that move our lives. Corporate anything is just that -corporate. When the show stops, when the community goes to sleep, you have you and Jesus every night -one way or the other.
It's too easy to get caught up in wanting our own ways or following big groups. It's about staying as close to Jesus as possible. Screw the rest. Rebel God, rebel spirit. Love God and love everyone and all else follows -just don't sacrifice your integrity and don't give way to supporting sin.
Jesus didn't come here to "entertain" the masses. Everyone wants to be entertaained. Jesus said "follow me." they want some sort of magic to keep their interests. jesus offered a way. it is up to the people who hear his message, if they want to follow. It is not for Jesus to ask what they want. backwards isn.t it?
"“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”"
So, have you done that part that Jesus wanted yet?
LIke dumbo marie was around at the time to know. LOL.
Like Kim Jung Il, just obey and follow his rules. Don't question his logic. Once you start thinking that's when you get punished.
so if Hitler was on twitter and you were part of Nazi Germany, would you follow him if he told you to?
The main problem is feminism (for example this authoress too claims to be a church "leader"), which manifests its aggressive autonomy and anti-family superiority in the church as much as in the world. The so-called Christian women have the same rate of husband-discarding as the worldly ones. So there is no point for a man or youth to go to a "church", and decent people these days don't. It's just a breeding ground for lawlessness.
Your post really did not communicate well what you are trying to get across.
That said, feminism is no more the "issue" than anything else. Feminism is not anymore than a response to the misogynistic practices of the world, which in many places has stemmed from religion. In much of the developed world, feminism is no longer even a "thing" as the need for it had largely disappeared. Your "husband-discarding" comment suggests that perhaps you have been left by a lady in your life and have not quite got over it ... and that you or her are/were perhaps church goers. To suggest that people only go to church for fidelity in marriage is really strange ...even to this atheist. Again, I detect some unresolved emotional issue related to a lady and the church.
Didn't J.C. say he was going to return in the lifetime of his diciples? so he lied.
2 + 2 ≠ 5
It never has, it doesn't now, and it never will. YOU come along and say that 2 + 2 = 5. I say it does not. You say it does, I say it equals 4. You say it doesn't – I say 2 + 2 ≠ 5. You say it does, I say it doesn't. The argument/war goes on for years.
NOW you come along and say "Let's COMPROMISE!" Ya know what? 2 + 2 ≠ 5 And ya know what else? Your "compromise" of 2 + 2 = 4½ doesn't work, either. 2 + 2 ≠ 5 It doesn't, and I don't have to RESPECT your belief that it does. You're wrong, I'm SAYING you're wrong, I'm telling you to your FACE you're wrong, and if you teach it to your children, it should be considered child abuse. You're wrong, you should be shamed for believing it, and I'm willing to do it. I'm calling you an idiot and you are if you believe it.
2 + 2 ≠ 5
People are too sensitive and don't want to hear truth that will lead to a change of behavior, church is not Mcdonals you can't have it your way Christ was comppasionate but he never let up of sin and its consequences. Many are called but not all will have the backbone to make it throught till the end, the church that does not compromise truth is the church you should be end
They are leaving because after 2000 years, they realize this guy called Jesus, isn't coming back. That it was all a lie.
Oh, he's comin' back all right, but this time he's gonna have hisself a AK-47 in one hand and a sawed-off automatic 10-gauge in the other and he's gonna open up a whole tanker ship of whupass on some sinners. And he's gonna touch the righteous and they's going straight to heaven so they don't have to see what he's gonna put down on them what deserves it. And he's gonna take all the credit card numbers of sinners and cash out their accounts and take all the gold to heaven.
AME-YUN
"Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water by water. By these waters also the world at that time was deluged and destroyed." 2 Peter 3:3-6
2000 years? To God that is only 2 days! He is allowing just enough time to elapse to test our faith, to sort out the true believers from the fair weather friends!
2000 years .... is 2000 years, for a god or man. Simple math.
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." Isaiah 55:8
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 2 Peter 3:8
Quoting scripture does not make it true. Religious circular logic fallacy.
Does it make it more true if man says it verses God?
Christ said he was coming back within 1 generation. He was wrong and when people started to notice he was a no show Paul came up with this a thousand years is like a day cr-ap to try and explain away the obvious contradiction.
Where did that come from? The Bible gives signs in Matthew in the 24th chapter regarding things that will take place during the generation that will see his return. Also 2 Timothy 3:1-5 lists more signs, but where did you ever read that the generation has already come and gone?
"2000 years? To God that is only 2 days! He is allowing just enough time to elapse to test our faith, to sort out the true believers from the fair weather friends!"
You know that lots of complete generations have been born and died since then, right? Stop treating all mankind as one ent.ity–what happened to the personal god?
Yeah, fine that it's a blink of time to God, but it's not for humans who, as Anthony pointed out, should not be treated collectively as one organism. That reasoning is flawed, since only the people who are alive at the time of judgement have any real involvement.
It's not my reasoning it's God's!
As far as only those who are living at the "End Times" seeing him goes it's not true. The Bible says even those who "pierced him" will see him. "Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen." Revelation 1:7
"For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creation that is not manifest to his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eye of him with whom we have an accounting." Hebrews 4:11-13
We all have an accounting with God for our actions and He will judge each of us and reward each of us accordingly to our works.
"We all have an accounting with God for our actions and He will judge each of us and reward each of us accordingly to our works."
Then tell us what's the point of allowing 2000 years time to test the faith of mankind collectively, when God actually supposedly judges individuals?
He desires to be recognized and vindicated collectively for all of man to see. This may be a rather abstract analogy but if you were throwing a party wouldn't you invite all of your friends, or would you celebrate with each one individually?
No, I'm sorry, you're trying to have it both ways. If God judges individuals that negates any reason to judge mankind collectively.
You need to take that up with Him. I didn't make the rules:)
Anthony, you're wasting your time. They know their contradictory ideas don't make sense but that doesn't matter to them. After all, a human can't expect to understand God's ways... right?
So FJ, which god are you talking about? Humans have worshipped many thousands of different gods over many millennia, which have been their way of understanding what they didn't know. However, we now have sophisticated science to help us understand. Now, in this day and age, you should let go of your delusions, and stop worshipping the sky fairy.
I really should've proofread my own comment before posting, apologies, I've made a slight adjustment here.
So FJ, which god are you talking about? Humans have worshipped many thousands of different gods over many millennia, which have been their way of making sense of what they didn't understand. However, we now have sophisticated science to help us understand. Now, in this day and age, you should let go of your delusions, and stop worshipping the sky fairy.
Stewart–It seems you missed the sarcasm of the last sentence in my previous post. My apologies if it was unclear–I thought the first two sentences would have made it obvious. The point I was trying to make is that when matters of religion don't make sense (even to believers) believers always fall back to the same old explanation: "We don't understand it or have a reasonable explanation, but that's because we're like ants compared to God so of course we can't understand his ways."
Sorry FJ, I did miss the sarcasm, I'll put it down to tiredness at the time of writing! Anyway, having seem many posts by dissidentfairy, and despite their claim to have a "not bad" IQ, I strongly doubt they have an ability to think rationally.