“The Nones are growing:
Young adults escaping religion to find
no place to call home.
Will religion survive?”
~ Cynthia G. Creel
April 10, 2013
My story:
I have spent many hours with adults even as a child I choose being with my mom and my aunt over other kids, at least part of the time. I used to think about why I loved being with my aunt and mom so much more then others. It was simple, they were excited about the world and loved to share thoughts. They were fun!
Times change, people have changed and yet they always stay the same. There is a need all humans share from the beginning of time. I was very much like my aunt and when it came down to it I became a person stuck in the mud with age (until I stepped on to the path of True Health). No brightness of true color or interesting ideas escaped me, I only projected a “fake” artificial color and thought to tired to do more. I found gems of real thoughts generated by others, but none of my own could develop.
When I started to look for a church to attend I found in many churches there is a gap, ranging from the very young then skipping to the over 50 crowd with heavy on the over 50’s. Why, is the question on many religious people’s minds.
The facts, new survey the None’s have it:
A new extensive survey The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (2) brings a new light to the challenge of religion in the United States. After talking with more then 35,000 adults over the age of 18 finds a varied and adaptable group and includes the group of 28% who have left the faith they were raised in and with in those who have left only 44% found a new religious home.
So where does the other 56% of the group that leaves a faith go? The unaffiliated is increasing with young adults (18 - 29) who claim to have no current religious home. As a country some religions have diversified and become fragmented sharing a history together but delivering their own “personal” message in many different affiliations and buildings. The largest group to growth has come from a loss created by leaving a religion and just simple not finding a new religious home.
Are there too many places to choose from, each saying the same thing only with split of a congregation because of small differences viewed to be nonnegotiable by some that are saying the basic message with a small difference in what is said or done? I know of a slit in a church that was over the use of one cup vs two cups in a religious ceremony. It the lack of ability to find common ground and move forward together creating a path away from religion in America? The importance to be me instead of us gives a one sided view of the world difficult to build on. Or is it more about change?
This religious change can create growth but is it a healthy growth? If a religion is gaining more then it is loosing than it would appear to be a positive on the surface. With so much turmoil in the religious setting can it be creating a negative effect with change that means I am leaving to find a new home because you are not providing a place where I am listed to and feel comfortable to grow. The choice maybe, the religion grows with the need of the people or the people leave and if the people leave it is looking like they have a high risk of doing nothing at all with religion.
(photo from source 1)
Maybe not to even step inside the
Non affiliation will be the majority?: (photo from source 1)
America seems to make it’s choices out of fear. Fear drives choices from a weak point to lead to ideas of , more guns because we are afraid, no responsibility for actions, companies have to take care of me, farms have to kill every living cell and the government must protect me from every little event. It is not that these aren’t needed it is the balance of something else to take care of me rather then a partnership that I take care of myself with the help of others is lost with fear.
The religious tone of the United States embodies this attitudes with there own flavor of fear and just to be me. The United States has become a privileged nation that has the attitude my way or the high way or I deserve this and it looks like religion is part of the problem and pays the price thought loss of member for not trying to correct the problem. The religion is left to scramble for an every diminishing group of those willing and able to help a religion to survive. Although I do believe it is possible to correct it will be difficult to correct actions if there is not an understanding or an ability to understand the underlying issues present in today’s religious tensions.
For better or worse:
There is no room in a world that moves a group forward form uneducated prejudice and closed minds. (1)
It is not enough to just gain attention as a religion. It must be attention combined with a message with transparency. It is not that the young adult does not want to believe in something bigger them themselves it is that religion has failed to keep up with minds that work much faster than the adults that are unhealthily aging from 22 an on. (3) Religion is designed to help those in need to focus on themselves and the world all at the same time. The religious teaching have a valuable message of the past. The interpretations and teachings of many messages maybe the weak point with the lack of the reasons why to attend having the largest side affect of the young adults moving away from an institutions that offers “fake” instead of real.
Real or fake starts at the top moves down or starts at the bottom and moves up. The easies path is just like water flowing downward. What I see most in our leaders, not only in religion, but in many groups is the lack of ability to be real and genuine. They carry unintentional “fake” messages that allows for weak decision culminating in scandal after scandal from sex to abusive people and power to shying away from new ideas that support the old ways.
Leadership that is weak is evidence of the underlying problem. And yet what we have are people who attend their religions weekly and look around and wonder why some people leave and how their religious home will survive in 10, 20 or 50 years. The aging population can not sustains any organization for ever, only with an influx of young adults can keep it survive and thrive.
Who are the young adults following?:
Many young adults in the United States are finding leadership they can follow. No matter if a person is conservative or liberal, non affiliated or affiliated with religion most I believe are looking for the leadership in the United States and can not find it in many places.
This is not to indorse a view about who is better republican or democrats is an example of what history shows. We need both parties to create a stronger nation with diversity in ideas to find the best ideas:
A poll discovered who was voting (figure from source 1)
for who (6), during the
Is there a problem with our leaders or is there just not enough leaders that led well? It is easy to gain the attention of a like minded group of people with someone else who leads with the same mind set. It is not as easy to gain attention with a mind set that may be different yet one that makes choices from strength rather than weakness.
Final thoughts:
(figure from source 1)
One of my young adult friends grew up not attending a religion. She has seriously looked at the Christian religion. Within many conversations I discovered she wanted to belong to something bigger then herself, but she could not make sense of the Bible and felt the inner working of religion took to much from people in money and power and gave too little back. A conversation that lasted around a year taught me it takes much to pull a person in to help create a better religion. Taking much education and a place that represents forward thinking, a combination I think is difficult to find in a organized religious setting. Even with another person< that she respected, talking positive about religion she most likely will stay with the None group helping it to grow. While still looking for more and finding it else where then a religious setting. After all, with the quick thinking of the young adult how quickly would she become bore and leave even if she gave religion a try?
I must confess this is the largest obstacle for myself to stay with any religion. I do stay in the hopes of change, I may not if the obstacles become overwhelming. The church must be strong enough to listen to it’s own words: to obey which means to listen for a healthy change to happen and people must obey for a healthy change to happen. Both must be able to adjust to a new way or die a slow death.
Religion mirrors in many ways the message on my page of staying on a path mine is a Path of True Health. It seems mankind benefits with the natural focused from oneself to a more balanced approach of how I fit into the universe and how the universe fits into me. Religion(1)is desperately needed to help fill part of the void in life, a religion that is worthy being part of a life offers leadership that is real, programs that truly help others that help themselves and offer ways to help not only the larger world, but each individual person entering a place to worship.
Arguing over which religion is right or wrong doesn’t accomplish what is needed, it tends to push diversity away and keep a like minded group tightly woven without the ability to breath life into a religious group or maybe even a most individual groups of the larger religion by lacing the ability to attracting and keep the attention of an American young adult. Each must adjust to the other to move forward together without depending on a group fleeing and escaping unsatisfactory religious homes. No one truly wins just gathering those who are unhappy to stay somewhere else.
If religion doesn’t adjust to the reality, the loss will affect all of us and once an institution that over all has helped so many looses it young adult base there is not much hope that it will redirected those who have fled or have never known the inside of a religious institution. It will more likely fade away like the Roman empire unable to change for a 1000 years before it collapses and becomes just a part of history.
Discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step on to the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars to create a world you will love to live in.
By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”
Photo by Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given was only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published. There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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Sources:
(1) http://lifeisgoodbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-different-kind-of-rosa-parks-does.html
(2) http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx
(3) http://lifeisgoodbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/03/old-age-starts-at-22-keep-life-rolling.html
(4) http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedImages/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Unaffiliated/nones-exec-2.png
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