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This is a strategic book. If I could, I would send a copy to every teaching
elder in the PCA. It so clearly explains one of the main reasons why I wrote
Making Kingdom Disciples, A New Framework. Robert Wuthnow of Princeton
University describes Soul Searching as extremely important and “the most
ambitious study ever conducted among American teenagers about their religious
and spiritual lives.” Donald E. Miller says, “this book is a landmark study of
the religious attitudes and practices of American teenagers.”
Christian Smith, Professor of Sociology at University of North Carolina, is
one of the rising stars in the field of academia and he is also connected with
the PCA. His earlier books have demonstrated his expertise as a respected
scholar, researcher and Christian.
Earlier this year we reviewed the book Hurt by Chap Clark, which was an
assessment of many studies and conclusions about the rising generation. Early in
2004 we reviewed a book by George Barna, Transforming Children Into Spiritual
Champions. They basically concur in their conclusions. We are failing the rising
generation, at least within the church. This book by Smith, representing four
years of research, study and evaluation of teenagers between ages thirteen and
seventeen over a four year period, funded by the Lilly Foundation, not only
verifies the earlier books but adds another dimension.
Soul Searching deals with the place of religion in the life of the teenager.
Of the 3,350 teenagers studied from across the country, they found that
teenagers were not anti-religious nor did they have to be taken to church
against their will. During the teen years, they were interested in religion but
not too much of it. They believe in a creator God. They also believe that God is
there to help in time of crisis but does not get involved in their day-to-day
lives. They believe in right and wrong but do not know how to make that
determination.
They found that the people having the greatest influence and impact in the
teenagers’ lives were their parents. Teens generally copied the lifestyle of
their parents. That was a second nuance of importance, along with their interest
in religion. When asked where they learned their faith and the things they
believe, teenager after teenager said, “from my parents.” Some even mentioned
the influence of the church in their lives.
The study included the following statistics, “three quarters of U. S. teens
between 13-17 years old are Christians…about half Protestant and one-fourth are
Catholic.” “Christianity, in other words, still very much dominates American
religion numerically at the level of teenage affiliation.” The study even
revealed, “many nonreligious U. S. teens believe in God, attend church, and
pray.” Another interesting finding was that most teenagers do not mix or match
their religion, that is they affiliate with one religion or no religion.
They found that among the different groups studied, Mormons were most likely
to hold to the religious beliefs of their parents with conservative Protestants
second, followed by mainline Protestant Catholics and black Protestant teens.
Jewish teenagers ranked fifth though a majority do “lean strongly toward their
parents.” This means, says Smith, contrary to much opinion, teenagers are not
flocking in droves to alternative religions, though some are moving towards
paganism and Wicca. Presently Muslim teens represent one-half of one percent of
U. S. teens and Buddhists less that one-third of one percent.
As you read Soul Searching you begin to get a good feeling about teenagers
and start making some course corrections in your understanding of teens and
their religious attitudes; that is until you hear Smith’s conclusion. Even with
all the data about teens and religion, Christianity and the church, the bottom
line is Smith describes them as moralistic, therapeutic Deists. They believe in
God but not a God who has much to do with their daily lives; however, he is
there in time of great need, or a crisis. They also believe in the idea of right
and wrong but are not always clear as how to determine the difference. They
believe that God wants them to live good lives because good people are happy and
go to heaven.
If you asked Smith where teens get this moralistic, therapeutic deism he
would quickly remind you that his study reveales that the parents were the
greatest influence in their life. They have taught this to their children. They
want them to be religious because those teens interested in religion are less
likely to get involved in drugs and other destructive things and they do better
in school.
As I read this challenging book, I immediately thought of Barna’s and Clark’s
books mentioned above. Barna said parents are not helping their children develop
a biblical worldview and the church is not helping the parents know how to do
that. Clark says similar things about the parents, who according to the younger
generation are abandoning them in the sense of not helping them to know how to
understand life and reality. Of course they are giving their children the best
of others things but are not taking the time to help them have a biblical
framework for life. So many say that their parents are leaving those things up
to teens and not trying to push them in the area of religion.
Smith states that the church is one of the few remaining social institutions
in which adolescents participate together with fellow believers of all ages and
life stages. This gives the church a great opportunity to disciple young people.
However, if moralistic, therapeutic deist is an accurate description of today’s
teens, then we have to conclude with Barna that both the church and the home are
not shaping the solid biblical foundations for the youth.
Smith says in conclusion this book is intended to be “among other things, a
stimulus for soul-searching conversations among adults in various communities
and organizations about the place and importance of adolescents in our lives
and, in particular, the significance of the religious and spiritual lives of
teenagers today.” He further concludes, “To provide a bit of initial input to
those discussions, in this brief unscientific postscript we step out of our
normal sociological roles—with more than a little trepidation—to try to imagine
some of the book’s possible prescriptive implications for communities of faith.
To be perfectly clear about our purpose here; we are academic sociologists, not
religious ministry consultants or promoters. Nevertheless, detailed knowledge
and understanding of the social world often raises real questions about cultural
and institutional practices and commitments that can make real differences in
people’s lives.”
Need we say more? Let this book challenge you as parents and church leaders
to evaluation what you are teaching the rising generation. More importantly, let
it challenge you to examine your beliefs and practices and the teaching of the
church.
- Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator
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