Youth Are Clearing Sunday Schedules

New study by the Pew Forum shows that the percentage of young people who participate in any organized form of religion has fallen drastically from previous generations.

Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the “nones”) has been very small — hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, Putnam says the percentage of “nones” has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans.

This surprises me because during recessions and other tough times, people historically turn to religion as a support. What has changed? Are young people more atheistic?

The group suggests that organized religions have a bad image right now because of their alignment with the conservatives politically. By aligning with issues like being opposed to gay marriage, they have cast their image as largely intolerant.

“Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church,” Putnam said. “They have the same attitidues and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues.”

Putnam says that in the past two decades, many young people began to view organized religion as a source of “intolerance and rigidity and doctrinaire political views,” and therefore stopped going to church.

Do you still go to church every Sunday (or attend any organized religion meetings)? I’d argue while the above does seem plausible, perhaps the answer is a bit less controversial. Churches always were a system of community. With the internet allowing us to communicate with people in a far easier fashion, and find those like us, we create our own communities. Also, if you are a bit “different”, maybe your online group of friends is more welcoming than trying to fit into your religious institutions idea of a good person.