What a New Generation Thinks

Carol Howard Merritt over at Tribal Church pointed to an article "A New Generation Expresses Its Skepticism and Frustration With Christianity", which suggests that young people, ages 18-29, are increasingly dissatisfied with Christianity (defined broadly). The Barna Group, a marketing research group for churches, suggests this is not a passing fad; they claim to have longitudinal data that shows that this trend has been developing for at least ten years. A big part of this dissatisfaction is the association of Christianity with conservative values, especially homophobia. However, much of the reaction was based on people's "personal interactions with Christians or in churches" which often involved "truly ‘unChristian’ experiences."

So I wonder where Unitarian Universalism fits into all this? In general, our values stand in opposition to the ones the young people identified as unappealing in Christianity. The form of Christianity found within the UU movement, based strongly on the wisdom rather than the divinity of Jesus, might well be appealing to many of these people. Many of these young people should find our congregations to be attractive faith communities. But do we even welcome them in? I think we are learning to do this, in fits and starts, and this makes me very optimistic for the future of our movement.

Image from the Barna Group.