"the youngest generations are charting a new, unique course related to the Bible. Here are the types of changes being forged by young adults:
Less Sacred – While most Americans of all ages identify the Bible as sacred, the drop-off among the youngest adults is striking: 9 out of 10 Boomers and Elders described the Bible as sacred, which compares to 8 out of 10 Busters (81%) and just 2 out of 3 Mosaics (67%).
Less Accurate – Young adults are significantly less likely than older adults to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. Just 30% of Mosaics and 39% of Busters firmly embraced this view, compared with 46% of Boomers and 58% of Elders.
More Universalism – Among Mosaics, a majority (56%) believes the Bible teaches the same spiritual truths as other sacred texts, which compares with 4 out of 10 Busters and Boomers, and one-third of Elders.
Skepticism of Origins – Another generational difference is that young adults are more likely to express skepticism about the original manuscripts of the Bible than is true of older adults.
Less Engagement – While many young adults are active users of the Bible, the pattern shows a clear generational drop-off – the younger the person, the less likely then are to read the Bible. In particular, Busters and Mosaics are less likely than average to have spent time alone in the last week praying and reading the Bible for at least 15 minutes. Interestingly, none of the four generations were particularly likely to say they aspired to read the Bible more as a means of improving their spiritual lives.
Bible Appetite – Despite the generational decline in many Bible metrics, one departure from the typical pattern is the fact that younger adults, especially Mosaics (19%), express a slightly above-average interest in gaining additional Bible knowledge. This compares with 12% of Boomers and 9% of Elders.
What does this tell you about the typical young adult in the Church today? On the one hand, the study seems to confirm that young adults don't treat the Bible as sacredly as previous generations. On the other hand, they have more interest than any other group in gaining additional Bible knowledge.
I have seen deep evidence of this myself. The Churches that are the most packed with young adults are ones that have long sermons, are heavy on doctrinal teaching, and don't try to pretend to have it all together. The Churches that are bleeding young people out are the ones trying to "be relevant" by having shorter sermons, simplifying everything down to it's lowest common denominator, and create a community of people that pretend very well to have it all together.
So I say to "Mosaics" (what a cheeseball nickname for 'your generation.') bring your skepticism. We would welcome all the questions, complaints and cynicism you have.
We will be sinners (no sense in trying to deny that one), but redeemed, graciously saved Sinners.
We, in many ways, will appear unprofessional (you should see our song slides!) , and yet, we will spend an hour and a half each weekend studying the greatness of God along with some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the Church.
We won't have all the answers (the Bible doesn't give them to us), but we will have the one answer that matters: Jesus.
1 comment:
Very well said.
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