“We use a screen and images, so we don’t have a hymnal because younger people are not as used to using those things. Now people have apps, so you don’t have to bring your Bible,” said Diana Schwinge, co-founder of the Presbyterian Ascension Church in Forest Hills, New York City.
The 55-year-old attended Evanston’s First United Methodist Church as a child. While she began reading the Bible in third grade and “was very convicted by the Gospels,” she said that religious education nowadays must adapt to the digital era younger generations live in.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, 5% of American adults identified as not having a religion in 1972. But 29% of American adults identified this way in 2022.
Visiting Evanston from Chicago, Yzabelle Sanavongsay said that tradition is what causes the religious rift between younger and older generations. She is a 20-year-old who merges her Catholic mother’s and Buddhist father’s beliefs in her religious practices.
“My mom is a stickler for, ‘Oh, we got to go to church,’ and my grandparents want me to pray before bed every night,” she said. “I feel like I just don’t need to do that as much, and I’m busy, too.”
Moreover, as support for LGBTQ+ rights has grown and more people have openly expressed being a part of the community, the church can feel exclusive, said Kurt Bruggeman, 27. They said that they used to be Catholic but now believe in “the spirit of nature.”
“[The church] was much less accepting of LGBTQ people, which isn’t something that I can stand with,” they added. “I very much wish that older generations could accept that religion is stories to help you with your life. It’s not to degrade others over.”
However, 27-year-old Brett Harbaugh said that our society has transitioned from believing in an absolute truth—like the ones in religion—to believing in individual truths. Harbaugh, a Protestant banker, said, “People are selfish inherently, and more and more and more, our society has been wanting to just grab a hold of individualism and run with it as far as they can.”
Thus, to some, the distance younger generations are putting between themselves and religious institutions can cause a loss of community. However, John-Peroy Warburton, a 17-year-old Evanstonian, said that this community can be beneficial in creating spaces that bridge generations. This space within religious communities encourages youths to be more open.
“When we had our youth movement, a lady talked about how she [had been] taken advantage of and how God helped her with that,” he continued. “That opened up a space where the youths felt comfortable sharing some of their experiences.”
Ultimately, older generations should not belittle younger generations, said Warburton. He added, “In scripture, it says, ‘We’re all God’s little children.’”
