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

[O Latin]

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.

I'm not sure baby boomers were more religious. I think they were a different kind of religious. I wrote a paper last year about the emergence of evangelicalism and my thesis was basically that evangelicalism emerged as a way to make Christianity attractive to young people in the 70s and 80s. I think baby boomers and older are more likely to belong to, for lack of a better word, boring traditional religions, while gen X and younger are more likely to belong to evangelical/fundie type religions.

I've been talking with my friends about religion lately, and I was saying the other day that I'm starting to think I might want a more restrictive religion (although restrictive isn't the best word, but I can't think of a better one). I guess I'm just an oddball.

[B5SnowDog]

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

I'm Gen X and that's the opposite of my experience. Out of all my friends, only one of us remains religious even though we were all raised in Christian families.

[Peas n carrots]

Tail end GenX/vanguard GenY (I always fall just inside one or the other depending on the source). Generally, my friends are less religious than my parents generation. I do have some friends that do attend church, but are not super into it. As in, they attend with their parents, go on major holidays etc. But I'm in a godless blue state, so I'm sure it's far different than some of the FJ'ers in other parts of the country.

[defrauding]

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.

Exactly. I know it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but the article had a "young hipster casually appropriating other cultures" attitude that turned me off completely. (I will give her a tiny amount of credit, however, for not including a Native American religion and listing "cool headdresses" as a pro.)

[Maude]

She's right, more people today (young and old) have abandoned religion because it isn't 'cool.' Our advances in science have meant that we no longer need the gods to explain things. Thus, by and large, it's more a matter of having out-grown religion, as Gil has pointed out. This isn't meant to insult religious FJers (so I hope I've not done). Obviously, religion can and does evolve, but it explains why people are bothering less and less to embrace it at all.

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.

There are some religions that embrace women's equality. Unitarian Universalism is one, as are the Quakers (some branches more than others), and certain modern pagan religions.

[emmiedahl]

I'm Gen X and that's the opposite of my experience. Out of all my friends, only one of us remains religious even though we were all raised in Christian families.

It could just be my personal circles. I did not know any "fundie" adults when I was a child, just some generic Christian types.

[B5SnowDog]

It could just be my personal circles. I did not know any "fundie" adults when I was a child, just some generic Christian types.

Ahh... that could be it. I was raised in a borderline fundie church - women could wear pants but they taught that Genesis was a factual account of creation and the rapture was a-comin'.

[Scone]

I grew up in the kind of churches that were really worried about appearing "cool" and named their youth groups stupid things like "Kidz Church" and "Zeal" and "AMP'd" in an attempt to appeal to young people. I guess it did work because they did have a lot of young people there, but I always hated the trend and thought it was kind of patronising. Now I go to a tiny wee Anglican church of the type that really doesn't care about being cool, they just hang out together and enjoy their rituals. They're also not evangelists, have a female priest, and have at least one other priest who has told me he's completely cool with the idea of blessing same sex couples and actively insists that all unions are sacred, whether they're gay or straight or called marriage or not. I've never felt judged there, no matter how outlandishly I dress or what unorthodox thing I say, not even when I told the priest I didn't believe in the Trinity and that I thought Paul was a jerk and had no time for just about anything he wrote.

While this is unusual in my experience, surely it can't be the only church like that? I really hope not.

[Deleted07]

I grew up in the kind of churches that were really worried about appearing "cool" and named their youth groups stupid things like "Kidz Church" and "Zeal" and "AMP'd" in an attempt to appeal to young people. I guess it did work because they did have a lot of young people there, but I always hated the trend and thought it was kind of patronising. Now I go to a tiny wee Anglican church of the type that really doesn't care about being cool, they just hang out together and enjoy their rituals. They're also not evangelists, have a female priest, and have at least one other priest who has told me he's completely cool with the idea of blessing same sex couples and actively insists that all unions are sacred, whether they're gay or straight or called marriage or not. I've never felt judged there, no matter how outlandishly I dress or what unorthodox thing I say, not even when I told the priest I didn't believe in the Trinity and that I thought Paul was a jerk and had no time for just about anything he wrote.

While this is unusual in my experience, surely it can't be the only church like that? I really hope not.

That sounds like a pretty awesome church :-)

[slickcat79]

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.

I was kind of thinking that, especially in terms of the perception of "coolness" about religion. I know it varies by region, but I grew up in rural NC. EVERYONE at my high school went to church. It was extremely common to talk with peers about where you go, who your youth leader was, what mission trips you were going on, etc. I'm not sure religion was considered "cool" per se, but no one was mocked or made fun of for going to church. I actually don't think being scorned for being religious (on a personal level) is as common as some people want to believe...they just like the feeling of being a martyr for their faith in a way that doesn't actually put them at any sort of risk.

[fedelm]

I'm an older Millenial/Gen Y, grew up in a conservative suburb and now live in a quasi-rural college town, and religion is definitely a thing. In high school all the cool kids were in this fundagelical youth group, YoungLife, sponsored by our nearest AoG megachurch. Everyone talked about God all the time. Now as an adult and a parent most of my acquaintances are religious or very religious; even the atheists are devout about it (talking about how they're anti-religion ALL THE TIME). Few people I know simply don't care about religion, though I married one.

For what it's worth, I am quite religious, but as a Pagan that survey would have me listed as "unaffiliated" and thus adding me to the "nonreligious" statistic.

[Kitty]

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.

Yep, this, but I didn't read the article (I'm on my phone which makes reading and posting anything a pain in the ass. But to me it sounded like more "Religion is so uncool which is why young people don't like it, but I follow it anyway because I'm not afraid to be uncool, which makes me COOLER THAN YOU because Jesus is cooler than Chuck Norris like that."

That's not so much Brooklyn hipster than out-of-touch evangelical. I concur with the previous posters who find Christianity hateful, intolerant, out of touch, but I'll add sexist to the pot as well.

[CallmeChaCha]

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.

This. 20x! My sister and I were askedforced to join a church youth group in high school, and I think all the hatred they tried to teach turned us both off on the religious thing. People couldn't masturbate (WTF? Let people have their O's, damnit!), we weren't supposed to listen to rock music (my beloved Metallica, gone? I DON'T THINK SO!), they were very anti-gay (my HS best friend is gay), anti-abortion, etc. I think we both figured we could dislike people on our time, for our own reasons, and reserve the hate for only a handful of things.

[Kitty]

I grew up in the kind of churches that were really worried about appearing "cool" and named their youth groups stupid things like "Kidz Church" and "Zeal" and "AMP'd" in an attempt to appeal to young people. I guess it did work because they did have a lot of young people there, but I always hated the trend and thought it was kind of patronising. Now I go to a tiny wee Anglican church of the type that really doesn't care about being cool, they just hang out together and enjoy their rituals. They're also not evangelists, have a female priest, and have at least one other priest who has told me he's completely cool with the idea of blessing same sex couples and actively insists that all unions are sacred, whether they're gay or straight or called marriage or not. I've never felt judged there, no matter how outlandishly I dress or what unorthodox thing I say, not even when I told the priest I didn't believe in the Trinity and that I thought Paul was a jerk and had no time for just about anything he wrote.

While this is unusual in my experience, surely it can't be the only church like that? I really hope not.

I doubt it is, but of course they're a very non-vocal minority.

Strangely enough in my experience, the churches that were focused on looking cool tried WAY too hard. And they were clearly 5-10 years behind, which is why you still see some youth pastors with frosted tips and soul patches. You don't have to try that hard to be cool. Just be yourself. And don't be afraid to come out from under that rock. 2012 isn't really any scarier than 2002.

[wildcatgrrl]

I'm Generation X according to most of the definitions of the term. I have found that although I didn't really have religious friends growing up, the opposite seems to be true now. Several of the people I knew in my teen years and reconnected with via Facebook, most of them also Gen X, have become extremely churchy. Their timelines are full of Bible quotes, prayers and thanking God for a number of things, combined with a sprinkling of judgment from time to time. A good portion of my memories of these people involve alcohol, so it's a bit of a change.

[Lola]

I have been a atheist since I was 14 and my dad always said I will grow out of it and when I get older I will change my mind and find God, etc,... I'm 27 now and I'm still a atheist, the more I read about science and history, the more anti-religious I am. Nice try dad!

[shrewlu]

I was kind of thinking that, especially in terms of the perception of "coolness" about religion. I know it varies by region, but I grew up in rural NC. EVERYONE at my high school went to church. It was extremely common to talk with peers about where you go, who your youth leader was, what mission trips you were going on, etc. I'm not sure religion was considered "cool" per se, but no one was mocked or made fun of for going to church. I actually don't think being scorned for being religious (on a personal level) is as common as some people want to believe...they just like the feeling of being a martyr for their faith in a way that doesn't actually put them at any sort of risk.

This is how it was where I grew up. In high school, all of the "cool" or popular kids were very vocal about their religion and made a point to always talk about what they did with their youth group or join together for prayer around the flagpole or whatever. I don't know if they actually believed it or not, but they acted like they did. Same thing in college - the student religion orgs were very vocal as were the students. As an agnostic (at that time - I've since gone to atheism) I found it very uncomfortable to be around because talking about God was a very normal thing. I stuck out more for not doing it.

I do think our country is on a trend towards being less religious and that is due, in part, to the younger generations. But, there are still a lot of religious young people out there. It isn't about being "cool" or whatever, it is about the intolerance and other deplorable positions espoused by most churches. I think that is what is putting people off.

[Vex]

It's quite simply not true. America is trending towards conservative Christianity, and the vast majority of citizens self-identify as Christian. I have a lot of American friends who can testify that a lot of the time the cool kids at school were conservative Christians and the outcasts were the atheists.

In Australia, people are relaxed about things and tend to accept you as you are. My Anglican schools didn't care about religion, my state school had a Christian club I was invited to, but left when I 'came out' as an atheist, and my conservative Lutheran school was mostly religious but it didn't have anything to do with who was 'cool' or not. I get that it's satire, but it's bad satire and it's not based upon the truth.

[KatPruska]

The number of US citizens who identify as no particular religion has increased in the last five years, according to a Pew Research report, and that includes a full third of adults under 30. Identifying as nothing in particular doesn't mean these people are irreligious or lacking a spiritual side (although Team Atheist/Agnostic hit 6% of the total population, woot!), just that they're not interested in the organized aspects, which I find pretty encouraging.

http://www.pewforum.org/Unaffiliated/no ... -rise.aspx

eta-correction of a rogue comma

[genericJname]

She calls Patheos an "atheist website" which isn't true. It has blogs representing all different religions plus a small section for some atheist blogs.

[fedelm]

She calls Patheos an "atheist website" which isn't true. It has blogs representing all different religions plus a small section for some atheist blogs.

Plus it veers heavily conservative Christian. Three of their most prominent pagan bloggers (Star Foster, Jason Pitzl-Waters, and Teo Bishop) have left in the past two weeks partially because of the ads for Liberty University and the Mormon church.