When The Youth Are Leaving The Church

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The number of people leaving the church is a symptom of a larger issue. A Pew study in 2019 reported a decline of 12% in church attendance. “Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, comprising people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular,’ now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.” Protestants and Catholics have been experiencing the loss of attendees. The generation seeing the most decline is Millennial’s, begging the question, why that generation in particular?

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, they met this generation with an overprotective atmosphere within the church walls. They swept doubt under the rug, answers long in coming. If they came at all. The most common answers are something to the effect of, ‘You need to have faith to trust that this is what God wants.’, or ‘Pray more and read the Bible, and God will help you.’ It’s hard work, with little payoff. It seemed like the more we asked, and wondered aloud, the more we were caged in and evaded.

With the increasing ignorance of science, and judgemental and simplistic views on sexuality, Millennial’s knew something was off. When needs aren’t being met, the connection is broken. If they felt it to begin with, many never did. Some may have felt whatever connection they had with god was shrouded in something keeping them apart.

Disillusionment happens along the way, when what you're being taught to believe doesn't make logical sense. This is another instance where 'faith is needed to believe'. It's hard to reconcile a god that's supposed to be orderly and logical, with the admonishment over things that do not have logical conclusions.

They teach a Christianity that’s exclusive to those who do/believe XYZ. Anyone who does not, is punished with everlasting hell. This harsh view of morality and obedience raises red flags to those questioning, and seeking. When you step outside of Christianity, you’ll find that all people groups have a moral base that’s like each other. The perceived exclusivity of morality within the Christian context is a lie. Millennial’s understood this, and wondered why they’d need to have their children attend an institution that lies about morality, manipulates facts, and brushes off honest questions. This broke the pattern of coming back to church for big life moments, marriage, children, etc.

Deconstructing one’s faith is a long journey, and the reality is it’s a lonely one. The prevalence of traumas perpetuated by the church, and the faith should be enough for the church to step back and consider their actions. But will it? I can’t be sure. There’s so much involved in that process. In the meantime, those who've left seem out like minded people and begin the healing process of a former Christian.

Until the church realizes the reality of their former parishioners, this pattern will continue. People will continue to leave and meet their needs elsewhere. Until the church uses compassion and judgement free actions, people will continue to meet the proselytizing with a wary eye.

Resources:

• https://www.barna.com/research/six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church/
• https://lifewayresearch.com/2019/06/19/10-reasons-people-are-leaving-your-church/
• https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/millennials-are-leaving-religion-and-not-coming-back/amp/
• https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/five-reasons-people-leave-the-church.amp
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millennials-are-leaving-organized-religion-heres-where-some-are-finding-community
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/personal-stories-of-the-exodus-from-christianity/2020/01/16/7594a8f8-1472-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html?outputType=amp
• https://mindshiftpodcast.medium.com/leaving-christianity-is-a-lot-harder-than-it-looks-8930f532e41e
• https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
• https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/amp/entry/leaving-the-church_b_4816252/
• https://www.artefactmagazine.com/2019/05/20/recovering-from-christianity/
• https://medium.com/@ericbeach_30041/religious-trauma-syndrome-4-how-to-recover-from-growing-up-conservative-af-8d094c001bf7
• https://imagejournal.org/article/recovering-evangelical-reflections-erstwhile-christ-addict/