During one of Eline’s lectures, an audience member raised his hand, and asked a question regarding the general lack of spirituality and faith, among younger generations.
Although I had noticed the lack of faith myself, I had never stopped to really think about it. It seems to me that young people are growing more and more distant from the religion they are born into. Personally, I can write about Catholicism, because that is the religion, which I practiced during my childhood and adolescence.
Growing up, it was extremely common for Catholics to attend mass. In a Catholic country like Brazil, our parents would take us to church on Sundays, starting at a very young age. We had our first communion, our confirmation, and we actively practiced the religion and its traditions.
However, I do remember that as teenagers (I am part of Generation X) we also questioned the ritual of mass, in which so many people blindly repeated things, without understanding their meaning.
As young people, we created our own rituals, which we felt were true to our identity. We had the time to do this. There was no such thing as the Internet. Of course, we felt pressured by the older generations who lectured us, censured us, and treated us as true revolutionaries. Why did we have the desire to change the deeply engrained and well established?
Today, if you enter a Catholic church for Sunday mass, you’ll find that the average age is 40. While I can’t speak for other religions, I believe that the same trend exists in all religions. For me it’s easy to comprehend why this is happening, and why it will keep happening over and over again. Religion simply doesn’t go with most young people’s “vibe.” They’ve got another sort of “spirit.”
Religions practice rituals that are millions of years old. Of course, young people just don’t identify with these archaic practices and traditions. The worst part is that religious practices are often completely out of tune with the times. Religion critiques the relationships we develop, the way we attempt to protect ourselves, and the way we see the world. Religion doesn’t listen. Religion doesn’t change. Religion simply imposes. That is why young people will continue to grow more and more distant from it.
If spirituality is measured by church participation, then spirituality will keep decreasing. Young people prefer to direct their “spirit” towards groups they actually identify with. They want to belong to groups that share the same mentality, and in which they can express themselves freely. They want to find support that comes from living similar experiences.
Most young people make their own rules. Therefore, they’ll never accept an institution’s definition of “right” and “wrong.” To a certain extent, youth evolves, as it creates its own values. Through this, these young people become less alienated and more difficult to influence and manipulate. For those who believe that spirituality is essential and necessary, it can come from other places, like strong family values, and our own idiosyncrasies. There’s no turning back now. I think that’s a good thing. Actually I think that’s a great thing!
