Photo credit: Rytc; C.C. 3.0
A new study from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life takes a look at religious and moral trends amongst Millenials, young adults between the ages of 18-29, reports USA Today. While 26 percent of Millennials do not claim a religious identity and fewer go to church than the generations that preceded them, “they're just about as spiritual as their parents and grandparents were at those ages.” Nonetheless, Millenials are also less likely to pray or believe in God, according to the study.
But this doesn’t by default suggest a more secular bunch. "Where people start is where they end up, or if they move, it's away from religious ties, but they tend not to move on beliefs," Alan Cooperman, associate director of research, told USA Today. In fact, a closer look at the study’s numbers suggest that Millennials and their parents and grandparents may still have some core faith practices in common.
According to the study, among Millenials:
•40% say religion is very important in their lives, similar to 39% of Boomers at the same ages.
•41% report praying daily, like 42% of Gen Xers as young adults.
•53% are "certain God exists;" 55% of Gen Xers were certain at the same ages.
But the commonalities end there. In terms of homosexuality and tolerance, there is a distinct generation gap, reports Reuters. Young adults are nearly twice as likely to agree that homosexuality should be acceptable within society when compared to adults 65 years and up. And those corrupting, violent films out there for our viewing pleasure: Less than a third of Millenials believe Hollywood is a threat to their moral values, while among those 30 and older, 44 percent do.
Interestingly, the gap closes when it comes to evolution. Only 55 percent of Millenials say that evolution is the best theory compared to 47 percent in the older age groups.
But this doesn’t by default suggest a more secular bunch. "Where people start is where they end up, or if they move, it's away from religious ties, but they tend not to move on beliefs," Alan Cooperman, associate director of research, told USA Today. In fact, a closer look at the study’s numbers suggest that Millennials and their parents and grandparents may still have some core faith practices in common.
According to the study, among Millenials:
•40% say religion is very important in their lives, similar to 39% of Boomers at the same ages.
•41% report praying daily, like 42% of Gen Xers as young adults.
•53% are "certain God exists;" 55% of Gen Xers were certain at the same ages.
But the commonalities end there. In terms of homosexuality and tolerance, there is a distinct generation gap, reports Reuters. Young adults are nearly twice as likely to agree that homosexuality should be acceptable within society when compared to adults 65 years and up. And those corrupting, violent films out there for our viewing pleasure: Less than a third of Millenials believe Hollywood is a threat to their moral values, while among those 30 and older, 44 percent do.
Interestingly, the gap closes when it comes to evolution. Only 55 percent of Millenials say that evolution is the best theory compared to 47 percent in the older age groups.
-O.Lucius
