Survey: 72% of Millennials 'more spiritual than religious'

[i am knowledge]

Interesting article I came across.

What would you all attribute this to?  Higher access to education, moral decay, the church not doing its job?

Most young adults today don't pray, don't worship and don't read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows.

If the trends continue, "the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships," says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group's survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they're "really more spiritual than religious."

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Among the 65% who call themselves Christian, "many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only," Rainer says. "Most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith."

Key findings in the phone survey, conducted in August and released today:

•65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.

•65% rarely or never attend worship services.

•67% don't read the Bible or sacred texts.

Many are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven: Half say yes, half no.

"We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church," Rainer says.

The findings, which document a steady drift away from church life, dovetail with a LifeWay survey of teenagers in 2007 who drop out of church and a study in February by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which compared the beliefs of Millennials with those of earlier generations of young people.

AGE 18 TO 29: 'Less religious,' not necessarily 'more secular'

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The new survey has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

Even among those in the survey who "believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as savior":

•68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was "really important in life."

•50% do not attend church at least weekly.

•36% rarely or never read the Bible.

Neither are these young Christians evangelical in the original meaning of the term — eager to share the Gospel. Just 40% say this is their responsibility.

Even so, Rainer is encouraged by the roughly 15% who, he says, appear to be "deeply committed" Christians in study, prayer, worship and action.

Collin Hansen, 29, author of Young, Restless, Reformed, about a thriving minority of traditionalist Christians, agrees. "I'm not going to say these numbers aren't true and aren't grim, but they also drive people like me to build new, passionately Christian dynamic churches," says Hansen, who is studying for the ministry. He sees many in his generation veering to "moralistic therapeutic deism — 'God wants you to be happy and do good things.' ... I would not call that Christianity, however."

The 2007 LifeWay study found seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30, both evangelical and mainline, who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23. And 34% of those had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30.

The Pew survey found young people today were significantly more likely than those in earlier generations to say they didn't identify with any religious group. Neither are Millennials any more likely than earlier generations to turn toward a faith affiliation as they grow older.

Just thought it was interesting.  I know NT loves religious threads, but lets try to keep this civil. 

USA Today

 

[ruxxx]

I'm not even surprised by this.

 

[dirtylicious]

too bad they didn't extend the study to 40+...so they could see the trend as people age and start to have kids

 

[stateofsingularity]

Man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle

The triumph of the rational mind, reason, logic, science, law

May this signal the demise of superstition, dogma, irrationality, and blind faith

We win!

 

[diego]

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.


Dirty, times have changed.
I dont see too many changes in peoples beliefs as they get older.

Education goes up, religion goes down.

 

[TheGift23]

 

[thegoat121886]

Originally Posted by Diego

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.

accroding to statistics, you only roughly need 1,000 participants in a study to get a cross section of a general population.
Not that i agree or disagree with that, but that's the norm for any major study you see.

 

[optimusprimeaphia]

Originally Posted by TheGift23

Yep here we go...

 

[dirtylicious]

Originally Posted by Diego

Dirty, times have changed.
I dont see too many changes in peoples beliefs as they get older.

Education goes up, religion goes down.

people are having kids much later on in life.   I'd like to see how having kids (and those kids growing older)would affect religious beliefs of those who are only observant on holiday..

 

[cincoseisdos]

Religion keeps failing

That's why.

Their archaic ways and their refusal to acknowledge the present, therefore people blow it off.

I believe in a god, but not this "book"

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by Diego

Dirty, times have changed.
I dont see too many changes in peoples beliefs as they get older.

Education goes up, religion goes down.

people are having kids much later on in life.   I'd like to see how having kids (and those kids growing older)would affect religious beliefs of those who are only observant on holiday..

Not so fast, one Could argue that as education goes up, church attendance goes down, not "religion". If one actually wants to see a better model, look at England, Christian churches are closing @ alarming rates, while Islam is actually on the rise.

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Religion keeps failing

That's why.

Their archaic ways and their refusal to acknowledge the present, therefore people blow it off.

I believe in a god, but not this "book"

Another example of religion bashing FAIL. Since when did Religion = Christianity, because there are quite a few religions without a "book"

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by Diego

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.

It is actually a standard to use 1200 people in a study, the accuracy is @ 99% when you use a number close to 1,000.


The issues I have with the survey:

1.) Obviously ONLY talking about christianity.
2.) What does spiritual mean in context?
3.) Potentially 70% of people never read the bible?

Ducktales

 

[i am knowledge]

Originally Posted by Diego

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.

Central Limit Theorem

 

[bottom74bottom]

I fit most of those statistics but I interpret them differently...

I just don't feel the need to "fit in". I believe in the axis of Christianity, I'm just not dense enough to blindly follow the pack. If my own understanding and intuition leads me to the same destination, that reassuring. But I'll find my own way. I refuse to be led to God.

 

[diego]

Originally Posted by kix4kix

Originally Posted by Diego

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.

It is actually a standard to use 1200 people in a study, the accuracy is @ 99% when you use a number close to 1,000.


The issues I have with the survey:

1.) Obviously ONLY talking about christianity.
2.) What does spiritual mean in context?
3.) Potentially 70% of people never read the bible?

Ducktales

What are those 1200 people supposed to be representative of?
The world? A state? People who pick up their phones during the day?

Its really catchy to put a percentage as high as the one in the title, but its misleading as hell.
Cant get down with those types of studies that just like to throw out wild claims.
  

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by Diego

Originally Posted by kix4kix

Originally Posted by Diego

How can you trust a study of only 1200 people?
What demographic are these 1200 people part of other than that 18-29 age pool?
This study sucks balls.

It is actually a standard to use 1200 people in a study, the accuracy is @ 99% when you use a number close to 1,000.


The issues I have with the survey:

1.) Obviously ONLY talking about christianity.
2.) What does spiritual mean in context?
3.) Potentially 70% of people never read the bible?

Ducktales

What are those 1200 people supposed to be representative of?
The world? A state? People who pick up their phones during the day?

Its really catchy to put a percentage as high as the one on the title, but its misleading as hell.
Cant get down with those types of studies that just like to throw out wild claims.
  

Wild claims? I thought decline in church attendance was accepted fact? Atleast in the U.S.

As far as the representation it is 18-29 year olds. For a sample to be accurate it has to be random. Although I am not sure how they did it, there are several ways to insure random selection.

I do (as previously stated) share my concerns about the survey, I would like to see a copy of an actual survey, and not a subjective essay analyzing the findings.

My main concern is *@% spirutual mean? Not in the survey, just in general

I just looooove when people say "I'm a spiritual person"

 

[presumed]

Modern times... Gotta love it despite all the negatives

 

[cincoseisdos]

Originally Posted by kix4kix

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Religion keeps failing

That's why.

Their archaic ways and their refusal to acknowledge the present, therefore people blow it off.

I believe in a god, but not this "book"

Another example of religion bashing FAIL. Since when did Religion = Christianity, because there are quite a few religions without a "book"

Your whole post is a "fail".

I was speaking on my own behalf you half wit.

 

[classy freshman]

"We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church," Rainer says.
Can someone help me better understand this quote? I mean I think I understand what he is trying to say, I just need some confirmation.

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by kix4kix

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Religion keeps failing

That's why.

Their archaic ways and their refusal to acknowledge the present, therefore people blow it off.

I believe in a god, but not this "book"

Another example of religion bashing FAIL. Since when did Religion = Christianity, because there are quite a few religions without a "book"

Your whole post is a "fail".

I was speaking on my own behalf you half wit.

lulz ok buddy your'e wrong on your own behalf, or can personal opinions not be wrong now?

peasant. "religion keeps failing" Or are you the only person that statement effects?

NT slays me.