The verdict is in — America's religious landscape is changing.
It’s easy to see the rise of religious unaffiliation. It's easy to see the de-prioritization of traditional religion; and perhaps, even, an increasing ambivalence toward an intangible, non-materialistic, abstract, ambiguous force among us that we can’t even see.
If it’s not material — if it’s not something that makes us feel good when we look in a mirror, that we'd feel others would want to hear about on social media, that we can put on a resume — does it even matter?
If these are the values we hold dear, then what is the Fate of Faith in America?
To answer this, we looked at the millennial generation — the next generation to be raising children — to try to determine a trajectory. Within this group, an interesting trend appeared: Millennials have adopted what appears to be a much more casual approach to religion than their parents and grandparents did. Rather than accepting beliefs as “truth” or rituals as “family tradition,” they refuse to act blindly.
Most onlookers, at first glance, would say these mindsets are forces working against religion and spirituality — that because of them, and because of our shift in priorities, religion and spirituality are headed down a bleak path in America.
But, after speaking with close to 20 millennials (aged19-29), we wouldn’t go that far.
Check out the stories below to draw your own conclusions and/or
to read more about what we’ve predicted.
