...Evangelizing Youth in a Secularized World

ROME - With the July date for World Youth Day approaching, the event brings to the fore again the question of how best the Church can convey the Gospel message to young men and women.

Speaking to the bishops of Japan last Dec. 17 during their five-yearly visit to Rome, Benedict XVI warned how young people risk being deceived by modern secular culture.

"If their youthful energy and enthusiasm can be directed toward the things of God, which alone are sufficient to satisfy their deepest longings, more young people will be inspired to commit their lives to Christ," the Pope commented.

Achieving this, of course, is far from easy. A useful analysis of the prevailing culture and mentality among young people came in the recently published book, "After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings are Shaping the Future of American Religion" (Princeton University Press).

Authored by Robert Wuthnow, professor of sociology and director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, the book starts by noting that younger adults number more than 100 million in the United States.

Wuthnow contended that the lives of this group are characterized by diversity, searching and tinkering. In terms of religion a substantial number of young adults belong to traditional religious groups, but many others improvise their faith lives, taking bits and pieces from a variety of sources. "Ours is not a society that encourages continuity," the author commented further on in the book.

Trends

To help religious leaders better understand the situation of young adults, Wuthnow dedicates a chapter to describing a number of key trends. Compared to their parents their family lives are marked by delayed marriage, and fewer children at a later age.

In terms of work the trend to dual-income families continues to increase. Young adults are generally better educated in terms of university qualifications, but the job situation is more likely to be characterized by greater instability, with people changing jobs frequently, and having higher levels of debt.

Their social lives show a decreasing level of involvement in civic and community-based organizations, and a more fluid and unstructured lifestyle. Globalization has also influenced the younger generation, Wuthnow explains, with more travel and exposure to other cultures and religions. The Internet and modern media have also brought with them exposure to much more information and ideas.

Further on in the book a whole chapter is dedicated to the role of the Internet and other communications technology in relation to religion. According to the surveys cited, the main religious use of the Internet is to look for information about one's own faith. A significant number of people also look for information about other faiths.

Leaders of religious congregations face a challenge in dealing with the demographics of young adults, the book maintained. According to Wuthnow, younger adults are currently less involved than their equivalent group a generation earlier.

When it comes to their religious practices, Wuthnow referred to studies showing that younger adults attend religious services less frequently compared to the past. Churchgoers in the age group of 21-45 are also more likely to be female. Out of those who go regularly, two out of three are women.

Two groups

The attendance patterns, he commented, are related to delayed marriage and childbearing. The typical churchgoer is married with children, while those who do not go to church tend to be single or without children. There are, therefore, two groups of young adults, with two sets of interests and needs, something churches need to take into account, according to Wuthnow. If religion as an institution is not present in the lives of a large number of young adults, then they will look elsewhere for guidance, he added......CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE......