A poll released today by the Knights of Columbus reveals some hopeful, challenging and – quite frankly – surprising facts about American Millennials’ views on religion.
The poll’s findings – 40 pages in all – are too complex to be able to go into detail here. But for starters:
• Over three-quarters of Millennials (those age 18-29) say they believe in God.
• Only a third of Millennials, though – including a quarter of Catholic Millennials – attend religious services at least once a month.
• 6 in 10 Millennials believe the nation’s moral compass is pointing in the wrong direction.
• However, 64% say that morals are relative, and that there is no definite right and wrong for everybody.
• Still, despite their penchant for moral relativity, Millennials do make judgments on today’s controversial issues. On abortion, 58% say the practice is morally wrong, compared to only 20% who believe it is acceptable. On euthanasia, the breakdown is 52%-23%.
• 77% of Millennials believe commitment to marriage is not valued enough in American society. An even greater percentage of Catholic Millennials agree.
• Far more than any other age group, Millennials define their long-term life goal in religious terms, with a third naming “to be spiritual or close to God” as their primary aspiration. Running at a close second – “to get married and have a family.”
• A majority of Millennials, including Catholic Millennials, yearn for more education about their religion.
In the press release that accompanied the poll, Knights of Columbus leader Carl Anderson commented on findings.
“Catholic Millennials support Church teaching in a wide variety of areas, including contentious issues like abortion and euthanasia,” Anderson said. “In other areas, the cultural relativism that Pope Benedict XVI has spoken so much about is very evident, and it confirms the wisdom of his attention to this question as central to the New Evangelization.”
“There is much good news for the Church in this survey, especially when we consider that two in three Catholic young people want to learn more about the faith,” he continued. “The Church has a great opportunity to evangelize, and has much to build on with the next generation of Catholics, but it must act and teach in a way that makes clear the reasons for Church teaching as part of what our pope has called our ‘yes’ to Jesus Christ.”
A lot of ink has been spilled on the state of catechesis within the Church (remember this earlier post on Catholic Millennials’ views on marriage?), and this poll does reflect a lack of grounding in the faith among young Catholics. (More than 6 in 10 Catholic Millennials, for example, believe it’s okay for someone to practice more than one religion).
Yet what strikes me the most about this poll is that, far more than their parents and grandparents did when they were young adults, Millennials want “to be spiritual or close to God.” Their second long-term life goal is to marry and start a family. If the Greatest Generation is remembered for its courageous response to crisis, and Baby Boomers for the shedding of tradition and the ushering in of the ‘60s, what will characterize the Millennial generation? Spiritual longing? The desire for stability in one’s job and family life in a post-economic crisis world?
One can only conjecture so much, but this much is clear: There is great potential for the Catholic Church to reach out to and communicate Christ’s message to today’s Millennials. They are searching.
-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor
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