It is evident that the younger the generation, the least likely they are to attend church. While there are some Millennials and Generation Z’s who still keep the tradition alive, the majority of their fellow age cohorts do not share their sentiment and are leaving churches left and right at record numbers.
The Status Quo
According to the Pew Research Center, fewer and fewer young adults attend church. Millennials are significantly more unaffiliated than members of the older generations were in roughly about the same point in their life cycle.
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It could have alluded to the fact that the younger generation’s social and political views are more accepting and accommodating with ideals such as homosexuality, mixed-race relationships, among others that were previously unaccepted in most religious circles. Even more so for the Generation Z’s, who are more open and up to the ideals.
These generations also do not consider the morals and ideals of the older generations as the absolute right or wrong, and would instead opt to be more open about reason and circumstance.
Millennials and Generation Z’s Leaving the Church
There is also a propagating narrative saying that even though the Millennials and Generation Z’s do, in fact, believe in God, they do not necessarily believe in the institution of the church. Saying that as long as there is the foundation of belief in God or a higher being, there is no longer a necessity to opt into an institution.
The church recognizes this as a problem and has already taken steps in order to call back the younger generation into the fold of the institution once more. These efforts have centralized onto the more digital form, in hopes to entice the tech-savvy generations.
Tune in to the next installment of this article, as we discuss the efforts of the church and the reforms that the church that may or may not engage in.