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Generation Y and Religion in College


Published on October 19th, 2009 at 9:25 pm by Paul Eulette
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College ReligionCollege – the time of  making mistakes, learning about your passions and developing your own self-identity based on your past experiences and new life lessons. However, is this the time we turn to our books and peers alone to answer life’s hardest questions; or do we seek the answers our professors and peers cannot answer by turning to a religious affiliations?

A study reported by LifeWay.com stated 70 percent of Generation Y ages 23 to 30 stopped attending church regularly, for at least a year between 18 and 22, the ages which most Generation-Y adults were attending undergraduate college. This decrease is attributed to many factors, stemming from preoccupation, personal choice and even peer pressure.

However, the most obvious reason, to me, would be the physical disconnect from home, where parents/guardians or even friends could increase one’s likeliness to attend one’s respective place of worship. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism stated the support of the “family atmosphere” is gone and now young adults of Generation Y are having to realize the need to make these decisions for themselves for the very first time.

Is this saying Generation-Y students are not capable of maintaining the lifestyle instilled in them, or could this be a the choice some make as a part of becoming an individual?

Either way, it seems to be a trend within most religious affiliations to see a decrease amongst college student attendance, however, this does not imply students all together give up on their religious interest.

College ClassroomSimilar to all students at major universities, University of Texas students are overwhelmed with mid-terms, sorority/fraternity functions and football games alike. However in a 2007 article, UT’s “The Daily Texan Online” writer Caroline Page wrote an article regarding the attendance of UT Students at their local Mosque.

Page reported about 90 percent in attendance of the Nueces Mosque, were in fact UT students, which includes a lot of individuals involved in the Muslim Students Association. Though this is a sample of one university’s, and one religions student population – it is proof Generation-Y adults can take responsibility of their religious engagements while in college.

It is interesting to see how much participation of a local religious place of worship is represented by the generation that has a large assumed disconnect with their religious upbringing.

There is much left to say regarding the availability of places of worship and diversity of religious representation on specific campuses; however it seems as though just the interest college age Generation-Y adults have to remain an active member of a religious organization decreases on a whole, but not the lack of capability to do as such.

Generation Y and Religion in College
  • http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/12/for-millennials-belief-is-a-choice/ For Millennials, Belief is a Choice | Millennial Marketing

    [...] for at least a year between ages 18-22.”  Paul Eulette wrote in October for his blog, “QuarterLifeMagazine” that when young adults reach college,  ”the support of the “family atmosphere” [...]

  • http://www.recruitinganimal.com RecruitingANIMAL

    You've made a mistake here, Paul.

    The Generation Y we're all talking about is not just anyone in their 20s. It's primarily university-educated people whose parents were also born and educated in the United

    States.

    The Muslim population is largely composed of new immigrants from traditional, non-modern countries. In these places, religion is not subject to open enquiry and public

    criticism and there are no alternate channels for the development of emotional well-being.

    In fact, the Organization of Islamic States has been lobbying for the adoption of blasphemy regulations by the United Nations. So, you know that the countries represented

    by this organization are not very liberal.

    Here's Wikipedia on the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_P…

    So when you compare the Muslim students to other people their age you're comparing apples and oranges. One set of people were brought up by parents who were raised in a religiously liberal culture. The others weren't. So they are going to have different attitudes to religion that have nothing to do with their age but with the culture of their homelands and the homelands of their parents.

    There has been a decline in religious observance in the Western countries since the Age of Reason and it has increased as government and religion become separated

    and as more people are exposed via widespread education to critiques of religion.

    This hasn't reduced the desire for spiritual nourishment, however, and many people take up meditation or personal or group therapy or education or some other form of

    personal development.

    These are are all things which came through religion in the past. So, you'd have to explore how many students were involved in these pursuits before you can really comment on their spirituality.

    Moreover, people in their late teens and early 20s, out of their parents home for the first time, are missing their administrative assistants. They probably don't make their beds as often as they did before because there's no one there to make them do it. The same is true of religious observance. Without mom and dad to act as their helpers, they're not as likely to get things done.

    And without supervision, they are also more inclined to experiment.

    This doesn't mean that they won't return to regular religious practices once they learn how to manage their own lives. It does mean that you have to be cautious about what

    you say about people during what is clearly a transition period.

  • http://www.recruitinganimal.com RecruitingANIMAL

    You've made a mistake here, Paul.

    The Generation Y we're all talking about is not just anyone in their 20s. It's primarily university-educated people whose parents were also born and educated in the United

    States.

    The Muslim population is largely composed of new immigrants from traditional, non-modern countries. In these places, religion is not subject to open enquiry and public

    criticism and there are no alternate channels for the development of emotional well-being.

    In fact, the Organization of Islamic States has been lobbying for the adoption of blasphemy regulations by the United Nations. So, you know that the countries represented

    by this organization are not very liberal.

    Here's Wikipedia on the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_P…

    So when you compare the Muslim students to other people their age you're comparing apples and oranges. One set of people were brought up by parents who were raised in a religiously liberal culture. The others weren't. So they are going to have different attitudes to religion that have nothing to do with their age but with the culture of their homelands and the homelands of their parents.

    There has been a decline in religious observance in the Western countries since the Age of Reason and it has increased as government and religion become separated

    and as more people are exposed via widespread education to critiques of religion.

    This hasn't reduced the desire for spiritual nourishment, however, and many people take up meditation or personal or group therapy or education or some other form of

    personal development.

    These are are all things which came through religion in the past. So, you'd have to explore how many students were involved in these pursuits before you can really comment on their spirituality.

    Moreover, people in their late teens and early 20s, out of their parents home for the first time, are missing their administrative assistants. They probably don't make their beds as often as they did before because there's no one there to make them do it. The same is true of religious observance. Without mom and dad to act as their helpers, they're not as likely to get things done.

    And without supervision, they are also more inclined to experiment.

    This doesn't mean that they won't return to regular religious practices once they learn how to manage their own lives. It does mean that you have to be cautious about what

    you say about people during what is clearly a transition period.