Young people keep faith, lose religion

America is losing its faith. Or is it?

An intriguing Pew Foundation study has found that Americans are not as religiously affiliated as they used to be. Younger Americans, especially the Gen X'ers (born 1965-1980) and the Millennials (born 1981 or after), are much less likely to have a church affiliation or to profess membership in any particular church or faith. That much probably doesn't surprise church-goers a whole lot. Look around the congregation, and you're far more likely to see gray hair and bald heads than the latest 'dos of the younger generation.

What is interesting is that, although Americans are less likely to profess a religious affiliation, they resemble their elders in responses to questions about belief in God, belief in an afterlife and belief in miracles. Although they say they pray on a regular basis, for instance, just 26 percent of the Millennials are affiliated with any religious group. The Pew study delves into a variety of beliefs and habits, including views of the factuality of the Bible and the concept of evolution, and these findings will no doubt provide fodder for hundreds of church evaluations and pastoral seminars for years to come.

Just the contradictions of the Pew findings are enough to keep a minister's mind spinning. Young people believe in God, pray to God and believe in divine miracles, but they don't belong to any religious organization or subscribe to any particular faith. It's difficult to explain this apparent contradiction.

Perhaps the lack of religious affiliation is related to the younger generations' general lack of confidence in all institutions. Civic clubs and charities struggle to find members and volunteers because the American ethos of volunteerism and civic involvement, which was chronicled by de Tocqueville 175 years ago, seems to be dying away.

Churches face some unique obstacles in attracting the carefree young. Religious worship requires a quietness and concentration that is often not appealing to raucous age groups. Some churches have responded with rock music, drama and a casualness that would appall our religious forebears in an effort to lure youthful wanderers. The Pew research finds "mainstream" Protestant churches lagging behind evangelical Protestant churches in attracting younger members, but it's not clear whether that is the result of different worship style or more evangelical (proselytizing) practices.

When people tell me, as some have, that "I'm not religious, but I am spiritual," I want to tell them to stop trying to be an oxymoron. Religion is spiritual, and spirituality is religious. Worshiping with other believers is rewarding and fulfilling. "Whenever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there," Jesus promised, and most religions encourage group worship. Those who say they believe in God and heaven and miracles but eschew church affiliation are like musicians who refuse to play with other musicians. They're missing most of the joy and excitement of their efforts.