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A Series of Open Letters from Father William Shontz, pastor of Trinity Anglican Church in Erie, PA, Reflecting on the Barna Group Report “Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church” Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective. A few of the defining characteristics of today's teens and young adults are their unprecedented access to ideas and worldviews as well as their prodigious consumption of popular culture. As Christians, they express the desire for their faith in Christ to connect to the world they live in. However, much of their experience of Christianity feels stifling, fear-based and risk-averse. One-quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds said “Christians demonize everything outside of the church” (23% indicated this “completely” or “mostly” describes their experience). Other perceptions in this category include “church ignoring the problems of the real world” (22%) and “my church is too concerned that movies, music, and video games are harmful” (18%). CLICK HERE FOR THE OPEN LETTER Reason #2 – Teens’
and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow. A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to my career or interests” (24%) or that “the Bible is not taught clearly or often enough” (23%). Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that “God seems missing from my experience of church” (20%). CLICK HERE FOR THE OPEN LETTER Reason #3 – Churches
come across as antagonistic to science. One of the reasons young adults feel disconnected from church or from faith is
the tension they feel between Christianity and science. The most common of the
perceptions in this arena is “Christians are too confident they know all the
answers” (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel
that “churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in” (29%).
Another one-quarter embrace the perception that “Christianity is anti-science”
(25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have “been turned off by
the creation-versus-evolution debate.” Furthermore, the research shows that
many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying
faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.CLICK HERE FOR THE OPEN LETTER Reason #4 – Young
Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic,
judgmental.
With unfettered access to digital pornography and immersed in a culture that
values hyper-sexuality over wholeness, teen and twentysometing Christians are
struggling with how to live meaningful lives in terms of sex and sexuality. One
of the significant tensions for many young believers is how to live up to the
church's expectations of chastity and sexual purity in this culture, especially
as the age of first marriage is now commonly delayed to the late twenties.
Research indicates that most young Christians are as sexually active as their
non-Christian peers, even though they are more conservative in their attitudes
about sexuality. One-sixth of young Christians (17%) said they “have made
mistakes and feel judged in church because of them.” The issue of sexuality is
particularly salient among 18- to 29-year-old Catholics, among whom two out of
five (40%) said the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out
of date.”CLICK HERE FOR THE OPEN LETTER |
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