Chris Bowers makes the argument that the Generation Gap between Boomers and others is between Christians and unbelievers.
According to a 2005 study by Greenberg Research, only 62-63%% of Americans under the age of 40 self-identified as Christian, compared to over 80% of previous American generations. Further, fewer than 50% of the younger generations now self-identify as either Protestant or Roman Catholic...
If Christianity is being abandoned by younger generations in large amounts, surely that seems worthy of a national news story. However, apart from an academic paper at the University of Chicago, and a bunch of conservative whining about the secularization of America, there is very little information about the increasing number of Americans who do not self-identify as Christian...
I have to admit, I just don't get why few other seem to be talking about this one. Demographically speaking, this is a generational gap at least equal to anything that separated the Boomers from their parents. On a national level, it is reshaping America much more rapidly than immigration. However, instead of even so much as a peep about this in national news outlets, over the last few years places like CNN have hired "faith and values correspondents." Maybe news outlets are too cowed by the Republican Noise Machine to report on this trend, or perhaps seeing their children attend church once a year has too easily placated editors and producers. Whatever the cause, no one is telling this story. The rise of non-Christians in America is truly a silent revolution.
Bowers makes a mistake common among atheists and agnostics: inflating the importance of his own beliefs or lack thereof.
First, 60% of those under 40 identifying as Christian isn't a small thing. It still represents millions and millions of Americans who self-identify with the religion of Christ.
Second, there are many factors involved in why so many people under 40 don't identify themselves as Christians, and Bowers' post doesn't even begin to discuss them. For one thing, there has been a boom in the number of Muslims in the U.S. (and those converting to Islam), as well as a rise in various pseudo-religions like Scientology or New Age stuff. And this doesn't include practitioners of other sects like Buddhists. In other words, our society has become more pluralistic and the spiritual options have greatly expanded for the post-Baby Boom generations.
We live in a far less homogenous society than we once did, and with that heterogeneity comes new religions and more options for spiritual expression. Bowers makes the mistake of assuming that the 40% of Americans not self-identifying as Christians must be atheists or agnostics. That isn't so. Bowers would be better off recognizing that the hiring faith and values correspondents by television networks is actually in response to a rise in spirituality of all types in the U.S., rather than a misguided and stubborn attempt to cling to what was.
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