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Religion isn't cool; thats why young people aren't religious


Deleted07

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Interesting article I found that basically seems to say, that because religion isn't 'cool' or 'hip', that's why many young people under 30 don't consider themselves religious. :roll:

This seems a really fickle thing to say about young people. Like a way for some older people to dismiss anything a younger person thinks or believes, because they will 'probably grow out of it' or other parroting sayings some parental units seem to chirp when they are not impressed with a strong willed choice of their offspring that is counter to what they believe...

Its just another way to say what someone believes doesn't matter because of age, and its actually insulting to me that people would think that what someone either does, or doesn't do, is based on trend or popularity.

I'm my own person and I know what I like and don't like. Often times being completely counter to the "trends" and my peers of my own age! No amount of what is or isn't "trendy" or "hip" is going to sway me from not liking something, to liking it the next day, and vice versa, especially something as important to me as religious belief!

http://www.thelmagazine.com/BrooklynAbr ... lText=true

Have a read of the article, and let me know what you think about it all. To me it really goes downhill when the author tries to make pro and con lists of some more 'funky' religions, which young people might like to try. Which to me just belittles any point she may have had.

And then ends with this doozy;

Give it a whirl. See what happens. BELIEVE. Believe for once in your cynical life. What could go wrong?

I could rant for a paragraph on this line alone. But I'll let you guys have a go.....

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Decided not to read it seeing as I also have a paragraph-long rant welling up inside me because of that quote you posted. I don't think I could handle the rest.

Ignorance strikes again.

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Guest Anonymous
Give it a whirl. See what happens. BELIEVE. Believe for once in your cynical life. What could go wrong?

I don't have a paragraph-long rant. All I can think to say is: Fuck you. Fuck you, you patronizing, presumptuous, arsehole. 'What could go wrong?' Seriously?! Fuck you.

Sorry. I've got to learn to watch my language.

ETA: I've just read the article. It's nothing like I imagined based on that single quote :oops:. That said, I stand by my sweariness.

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I'm not gonna read it because the quote you posted tells me all I need to answer. I did believe, when I was younger and it was "uncool" to be religious. All believing got me a load of illogical crap that didn't help me in any way. It had nothing to do with cynicism and everything to do with the fact that all the stuff I tried to believe was a load of bullshit and all the people trying to teach it to me were hypocritical asswipes.

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I'm not gonna read it because the quote you posted tells me all I need to answer. I did believe, when I was younger and it was "uncool" to be religious. All believing got me a load of illogical crap that didn't help me in any way. It had nothing to do with cynicism and everything to do with the fact that all the stuff I tried to believe was a load of bullshit and all the people trying to teach it to me were hypocritical asswipes.

This is the thing for me, it seems to assume that anyone under 30 or even 25 couldn't possibly have any life experience to back up any of our beliefs and conclusions we have about life or religion.

I grew up Catholic schooled, so by the time I was 14 I KNEW it wasn't for me. Seeing daily the hypocrite teachers, students and clergy (and my own parents!) made me know it was never something I wanted to be! Almost 12 years later I feel exactly the same way!

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Guest Anonymous

What could go wrong? Uh, most of the world's major wars were about religion. How about that? Or the crap I grew up with? There's a lot more that goes wrong because of religion.

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Yeah, the first part and the last bit are kinda condescending. I'm not sure if it was because of writer wants people to believe or it was their attempt at snark.

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I think maybe it's trying to be funny...? Whoever said it read like a "kindergarten thesis" was right on. I can't tell what's going on there, whether she believes the statisticy stuff at the beginning or if it's just a premise for her ensuing "comedy". And anyway, how is anyone supposed to take seriously a woman who thinks Ricky Gervais is uncool and a has-been? The man is at the TOP of his game right now.

I'll just be sitting over here shaking my head and looking confused.

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Call me a masochist, but I read the article.

Wow, she's so wrong on so many points. First off I'll give her one point; religion isn't cool for teens. But not for the reasons she suggests. Teens want to be the same as their friends, if their friends are out and about doing fun stuff, so do they. They don't want to be sat in a church, being preached at by some dour vicar or shouty pastor. That's why many churches have tried to make church fun for teens by having youth ministries. I loved Sunday school as a kid, but the moment I got into bible class when I got to around 12, I hated it. All the fun of church had gone. I still read and studied the bible, but I really didn't want to do it in a class where the fun of life was sucked out.

As for belief, many people, kids, teens and young adults do want to believe but simply can't. Belief isn't something that you can choose to do, but you can fake it.

Going on to her lesser known religions; wow that's a clusterfuck of fail. Has she ever read a bible? Most of her objections to the lesser known religions are based on immorality and violence. The Aztecs; human sacrifice - in the OT, the apocalypse - in the NT. Greek mythology; rape - in the OT, war - in the OT, infanticide - in the OT, lady have you even read the Bible? Celtic mythology; spelling errors - WTF? SPELLING ERRORS? Where's the face palm gif when I need it.

Her final sentence; What could go wrong? Take a look around you lady, it's already going wrong.

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Oh. I just have to believe! Why didn't I think of that? Goodness, it all makes sense now. I'll just decide to believe that the world was created in six days, and a talking snake told a chick to eat some fruit, and that's why children are raped and murdered now. Let me get right on that.

ETA: If my Facebook is any indication, my generation is just as Jesus-y as previous ones. SO many of my friends post about God all the time. I don't feel like religion is "uncool" at all. Unless my sample set is just ridiculously churchy.

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I suppose I wouldn't be able to bring Tinkerbell back from the dead either.

She assumes that young people are generally stupid. I'm not too far outside of my 20's, and looking back admitting to myself I just didn't have it in me to believe was one of the more intelligent things I did. Once I realizedi only had this one life to live, I made it a priority to do and try things I've always wanted to to. Giving back has become more important, and not about gaining brownie points for heaven.

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I read the article and all I can say is that people who know nothing about religion really shouldn't write about it. Ever.

Wow is she a complete idiot.

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Sadly for me I know a lot of people my age who are Jesusy'. I tried it for a bit. It didn't work out, not because it was 'uncool' but because it was a massive pile of crap.

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I skimmed it, and to me it seems like the author is trying to make fun of hipsters more than bash nonreligious people. That's how the list of different religions read to me, like it was trying to point out how silly it is when people go out of their way to be different just for the sake of being different. She goes about this in a really weird, somewhat offensive way, but I don't get the impression that this article is meant to be taken entirely seriously.

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I thought that she was trying to be snarky about religion, and kind of showing the rediculousness of it all.....but maybe I'm wrong.

Whatever her point was, it's a stupid article.

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One of my cousins posted a similar question on his facebook page a few weeks ago. He and his wife are church group leaders of some kind and he was asking his under-40 friends who did not attend church their reasons for not attending. His "suggestions" for reasons were: too boring, not relevant, not cool, etc. He also wanted to know what the church could do to get non-attenders to attend. So, I answered him.

I was raised in the United Church of Canada - probably one of the more accepting and liberal churches out there. I believe in God and the basic teachings of Christianity, like being a good person, helping those in need, etc., but I haven't attended church regularly since I was in high school. I was honest and told him that the reason I didn't attend was that I don't believe that God expects me to be in a building, on a specific day, at a specific time in order to love me. That I tried my best to be an honest, hard-working, good person who helps those around me and stands up for those who can't stand on their own. So, I told him that if he thought that wasn't enough for God's love, but sitting in a church for one hour, once a week was, we were clearly on different pages when it came to religion.

He never responded :lol:

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what the truth is is that education and tolerance are what is killing the church. fear is the major recruitment of any religion and people are not as afraid of the bogyman anymore. Youger people are learning to get along with others not like them. so the intolerance the churches show is causing them to loose followers too. all good in my book. If churches want young people they better start being better churches.

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what the truth is is that education and tolerance are what is killing the church. fear is the major recruitment of any religion and people are not as afraid of the bogyman anymore. Youger people are learning to get along with others not like them. so the intolerance the churches show is causing them to loose followers too. all good in my book. If churches want young people they better start being better churches.

Agreed. I don't think religion is even that 'uncool', it's inflexible fundamentalism that is a problem. Between about 10 years old and 20ish, young people are trying to find their identity as separate from their family's, and that requires flexibility from their parents and church while they try out different roles for themselves. People who are supported through this stage are a lot more likely to continue coming to church/come back to church than ones who are condemned for exploring their individuality.

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Can't focus enough to read it, but a few years ago there was some study of what young people think of Christianity. This was the result:

* antihomosexual 91%

* judgmental 87%

* hypocritical 85%

* old-fashioned 78%

* too political 75%

* out of touch with reality 72%

* insensitive to others 70%

* boring 68%

To dismiss it as being "well, kids just think we're uncool" is ignorant. No. A substantial portion of young people think that Christianity is actively hateful.

(book on the matter)

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My generation (X) seems much more religious than that of my parents (baby boomers). Maybe it is the people my parents ran with, but I was 8 or 9 before I really encountered more than a lukewarm Christian. My dad was an agnostic who occasionally allowed us to be dragged to church; my mother was a practicing Buddhist who dabbled in Native American religious circles who allowed her family to drag us to shul every now and then. Both of my parents saw religion as a generally positive thing in the right doses but I was raised to be anti-dogmatic. I go through periods where I try to be more religious, and these coincide with my bad OCD times so I think they are partly a manifestation of mental illness.

Christianity is inherently anti-gay, judgmental, hypocritical, all the things that Gil listed. And yet so many people my age are determined to partake in it. My oldest sons generation (teens right now) is the first to widely consider intolerance a deal-breaker so I think we will be seeing a post-Christian society in the near future.

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My generation (X) seems much more religious than that of my parents (baby boomers).

This might be true. My eldest brother was gen x and was MUCH more religious than anyone else in the family, to the point that he separated from us for a period of about 4-5 years because his convictions conflicted with the rest of our more relaxed view of religion. (Especially ironic since he is a gay male, and his commitment to his church had him vow that he would be celibate for life, something even my highly conservative grandmother told him not to do. he has since changed from that belief, but still.) I think he was greatly affected by the kind of 90's defeatism/nihilistic ideas, where there really weren't any goals provided for the youth by external sources like family or the gov't, and a lot of people his age turned to religion to provide some kind of productive motivation for them.

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Can't focus enough to read it, but a few years ago there was some study of what young people think of Christianity. This was the result:

* antihomosexual 91%

* judgmental 87%

* hypocritical 85%

* old-fashioned 78%

* too political 75%

* out of touch with reality 72%

* insensitive to others 70%

* boring 68%

To dismiss it as being "well, kids just think we're uncool" is ignorant. No. A substantial portion of young people think that Christianity is actively hateful.

(book on the matter)

Those are the exact conclusions I came to!

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Well, it's "The L Magazine," which means it's likely written by a hipster trying to out-ironic other hipsters while simultaneously denying anyone involved is actually a hipster. Intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but probably not written by the most skilled rhetorician.

Brooklyn makes my head hurt sometimes.

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Gen Xer here. For me, it's what Gil said, plus:

-antiwoman

-controlling

-interfering

I have yet to personally encounter a religion that does not restrict women and give them the short end of the stick, even if it talks a good equality game on the surface. Whether that's the religion's doing, or the members of the religion mirroring the culture, I do not know, but that was the big dealbreaker back when I actively left religion behind at twelve years old. 'Uncool' didn't enter into it.

(I'm not putting down anyone who finds purpose or comfort in religion, so long as they aren't doing it at the expense of others. I just have never understood why people in general are drawn to religion, given how restrictive many religions seem to be. I think maybe I'm missing the religion chip in my brain. :) )

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