Is The Younger Generation More Open To Christianity?

As Australia farewells the pope and the tens of thousands of Catholic pilgrims who converged upon her shores, it’s worth researching whether the younger generation is more open to Christianity than we previously believed.

Many social commentators will insist that young people in Western countries are contributing to the decay of their society’s Christian values through their illicit use of drugs, alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, gang involvement, etc. A quick glance at the TV news may make us agree.

But according to a 21-country study conducted by German organisation Bertelsmann Stiftung, the majority of teenagers and young adults in most parts of the world are ‘religious’.

According to the study, more than four out of five young adults (85 per cent) are ‘religious’, and almost half (44 per cent) are ‘deeply religious’. Only 13 per cent claim not to be interested at all in God or faith in general.

‘The perception that young people are less religious than their parents and grandparents does not correspond to the reality worldwide,’ organisers of the study commented.

However, the study shows that in many European countries, young people are not as spiritually-motivated as those in the rest of the world. While eighty per cent of young Protestants outside of Europe were found to be ‘deeply religious’ and 18 per cent described themselves as simply ‘religious’, just seven per cent of young Protestants within Europe said they are ‘deeply religious’. Similarly, the number of ‘deeply religious’ Catholics outside of Europe is drastically more (68 per cent) than those within Europe (25 per cent). While relatively few young people in Europe pray daily – only nine per cent in France, eight per cent in Russia and seven per cent in Austria – more than half of young Americans (57 per cent) claim to pray daily.

However, before we rejoice too loudly at these healthy figures, at least outside of Europe, we need to understand that they do not reflect followers of Christianity alone. The survey included other religions, most notably the ever-expanding Islam. For instance, three out of four of the respondents in Muslim countries such as India, Morocco and Turkey pray daily – these are figures which are even higher than in any Christian nations and which bumped up the worldwide average.

While this survey is somewhat encouraging in its portrayal that today’s young people are more open to spiritual things, there are unanswered questions as to what type of spirituality that is. When people pray to ‘God’, to whom do they really pray? – the Christian God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the Muslim god (Allah), or some other god?

Is the younger generation more open to Christianity? It’s most likely that today’s youth are open to religious and spiritual matters in general – and that they are content to draw from all of them.

Already a member? Sign in or Join Now! to add your comment on this article!