Are Millennials Done With Practiced Religion?

It’s true, millennials have been found to be less religious than other generations. According to findings released in “Religious Landscape Study,” millennials aren’t as likely to believe and practice religion like older Americans have done in the past.

Does this study shock you? As a member of the millennial generation, I am not very surprised. Besides our tech savvy way of life, millennials are considered to be a more open minded generation. We are growing up in a time of change; genders, sexual orientation, science, technology, and society are shifting tremendously from what older American’s experienced. It makes sense that with all this change, millennials aren’t practicing religion like it’s been practiced in the past.

According to an article published in the PewResearch Center, most millennials have been raised by the Baby Boomer generation. “…Boomers expressed to their children that it’s important to think for themselves-that they find their own moral campus.” Like I’ve said, millennials usually have more of an open mind than past generations. Because of that we aren’t afraid to try, be different, and chase our dreams; it can be good, but it can also be bad. For example, how long do we keep chasing our dreams…until we’re 40 with absolutely nothing to call our own? Millennials “have a ‘do-it-yourself’ attitude toward religion.” They’ll keep trying and keep fighting for what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it. Instead of putting all of their faith in religion, they put their faith in themselves.

Trust is another reason millennials may struggle with practiced religions. Institutions themselves have been proven untrustworthy, time and time again. Millennials have and are currently seeing wrongdoing in the government, disloyalty in marriages, scandals within the church, and corruption in religion. It’s hard to stand with something that is busy tearing something else down.

It isn’t that millennials don’t believe in a higher power. It’s about the different ways we go about practicing our beliefs. “I think people assume that people who do not belong to an organized religious group reject religion altogether. But many “nones” believe in God and heaven. And spiritual experiences are still attractive for people who don’t go to church. Some people find God in the woods rather than in a church,” according to an article in the PewResearch Center.

Religion is a hard topic to discuss because of how many beliefs are out there. People are very passionate about what they believe in and don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be passionate. But, that passion can lead to negativity and judgement to other religions and beliefs. Mocking a religion because it isn’t yours is never the answer and this trend is what turns me and my fellow millennials off.

If you believe one thing that must mean that you hate the other, right? Wrong! Every religion and belief should be respected.