Religious leaders must learn to embrace new ways of relating to the mental health and spiritual challenges of young people or risk contributing to their continued alienation from faith institutions, the coordinator of a new national study says. Josh Packard…
What absurdism and a parody conspiracy theory tell us about why Gen Z is sleeping in on Sundays
Gen Z has the lowest church attendance of any generation and is frequently dubbed as the least religious generation. In a time when churches are struggling to fill their pews, Gen Z is sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Many are…
Addressing war with those who don’t remember 9-11
I work with a variety of young people in a variety of settings. Today in a class in one of those settings, and on impulse, I told the class I wanted to take the temperature of the group. I said,…
3 big questions can open a dialogue between adults and teenagers
Before stepping into the world of journalism, I served almost 20 years as a youth pastor and loved just about every minute of it. If you ask just about anyone working with or parenting a teenager, they will tell you…
Most young people are unsettled in the new year but few plan to turn to the church for help
Young people in the United States are fearful about the new year but are not turning to churches or other faith communities for solace or guidance, according to a research group that tracks the spiritual lives and perspectives of Generation…
Gen Z non-Christians pay most attention to those who live out their faith rather than preach it
Their curiosity about spirituality but disdain for overt proselytizing makes today’s teenagers a challenging group for Christians who want to share their faith with others, new research shows. “According to non-Christian Gen Z, the most appealing evangelism occurs when Christians…
Panel proclaims the power of today’s Black church to engage younger adults
A panel of African American Christian leaders expressed optimism that the Black church is emerging from the COVID-19 and a concurrent civil rights crisis as a robust social justice movement increasingly trusted by rising generations. “We’ve seen a lot of…
‘What we must do, as young people, is to ensure we don’t carry forward the endemic fallacies’
The leadership of young people is crucial in helping the world recover from the economic, health and political devastation exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to panelists with the Next Generation Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions….
Gen Z Christians more open to share their faith than Millennials
Teenage members of Generation Z are much more open to sharing their Christian faith than their Millennial predecessors, but mostly by emphasizing behavior and personal example over traditional approaches to evangelism, new research by the Barna Group shows. The survey…