What Young Adults Are Thinking



Population Breakdown of the United States
(with Generation Y called "Millennials")

I have learned that Redwood City (where I am exploring the possibility of starting a missional community) is quite young--79% of its population is under 55 years of age. The median ages of the city's five largest mosaic types range from 29 to 43. These findings have led me to interview young adults as part of my ongoing research. To date, I've interviewed 11 members of Generation Y or Generation X, their ages ranging from late teens to early thirties; some have been churched and some have been dechurched or unchurched. Here's a summary of what they shared.

Thoughts about God
Of the 11 interviewees, 9 expressed belief in God and 2 were agnostics. Several indicated that they have many peers who are agnostics or atheists. Comments about God were positive: God was described as "creator," "wonderful," "familiar," "big," "present," "forgiving," "powerful," "cool," and "Jesus." When questioned about Jesus, the interviewees also responded positively (although one spoke of being both "attracted to and repulsed by him")--"good," "important," "same but different [from God]," "present," and "rebel helper" were among the descriptions offered.

Thoughts about Church
When asked their thoughts about "church," the interviewees shared mixed feelings--just 1 had only positive thoughts. (Similarly, the terms "religion" and "spirituality" were not well received, with the more churched persons tending to prefer the first to the second and the less churched persons tending to prefer the second to the first.) The most common impression of the church was that it is "unnecessary" and "irrelevant" (these words and others like them were offered frequently); even though some of the interviewees also described the church as "judgmental" (1 "bigoted"), the overall attitude toward the church was more apathetic than angry. Some interviewees spoke of church as a place--the phrase "stuffy building" was used by 3 of them, "calming place" by 1 of them. An interviewee who spoke of church as a people used the phrase "old people." When I asked the interviewees to imagine what kind of church would engage them and their peers, many of them spoke of a close-knit community (not too large) characterized by diversity (non-judgmental) and informality (not "extremist" or too churchy) and an emphasis on going and doing more than on sitting and listening. Worship services were not emphasized, but a few of the interviewees expressed a desire for current praise music.

Thoughts about Society
A third cluster of questions had to do with societal concerns. Asked to name social ills or injustices that were of particular concern to them and their peers, interviewees mentioned stewardship of the environment ("green" comments were the most frequent), lack of healthcare (respondents naming this problem were in favor of universal healthcare), violence, poverty, and gay-bashing. A concern to promote the arts was also mentioned.