In Generations, the psychologist and researcher Jean Twenge notes:
Teens’ religious service attendance fell precipitously as Millennials dominated these age groups beginning in the late 1990s (see Figure 5.41). In some ways, it’s a shift that defies expectations: 90% of high school seniors attended religious services in the polyester, norm-busting, God Is Dead 1970s and 85% did during the cynical, black-turtleneck Gen X 1990s. It was the optimistic, self-confident Millennials who “killed” religion in the 2000s. That was especially true for incoming college students, where only 2 out of 3 ever attended religious services. Gen Z continued the trend over the next decade, with nearly a third of teens never attending religious services.
In Soul Searching, published in 2005, University of Notre Dame professor Christian Smith interviewed Millennial teens and young adults about their religious beliefs—or lack thereof. He found that many were intellectually skeptical of religion. “Too many questions that can’t be answered,” said one (pp. 296-297).
It’s a dramatic and swift decline.
According to the research, one contributing factor is intellectual skepticism. It’s a great quote: “Too many questions that can’t be answered.”
It’s one reason that Uncommon Pursuit invites participants to ask unlimited questions. (The more important reason is our confidence that God wants us to love him with “all of our minds”, Matthew 22:37).
How does your church empower its members to ask questions?
What doubts - or even skepticism - do you have about Christianity being true?
How have you seen unanswered questions push people away from God?