Googling God

I've just started reading the book "Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in their 20s and 30s." I didn't realize when I ordered it off Amazon that it focuses on Roman Catholicism. However, it is an easy read and I think it brings up some interesting observations.

First, the author sets out to help us identify young adults. I love the subtitle of the chapter, "Would you know a young adult if you fell over one in the aisle?" Of course, it is easy enough to spot a young person, but one of the things the author points out is that they are a very diverse group. It is very hard to make assumptions about them individually based on their generation. However, there are also marked differences in the worldview of Gen Xers and Post-Millennials.

Okay, so let's begin by defining the generations. According to sociologists, Jackson W. Carroll and Wade Clark Roof: "a generation's identity is, to a considerable extent, a narrative construct as people age and look back upon and interpret their experiences." So what most defines the generations is the events that they lived through. Most of us know that about Baby Boomers. These are the folks born following WWII -- roughly from 1945 to 1964. The events that define their attitudes are Vietnam, Kent State, Watergate. No wonder we boomers are largely a rather skeptical bunch. Millennials were born following 1980 and the events which define them are 9/11, Columbine, the Indian Tsunami, Katrina, and Virginia Tech. Gen Xers on the other hand lack a strong identity. They did experience the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Iranian hostage situation, and Tianiman Square, but those were all distant events that didn't change their view of the world.

Now that we have defined them, the author points out characteristics that studies have shown apply to the Gen Xers and the Millennials:

Gen X
• Share skepticism for institutions and authority figures with the Boomers although they tend to be more apathetic than Boomers about this skepticism.
• Seek communal and nurturing relationships
• Don’t have a deep need for intellectual certitude
• Experience is at the crux of how they make meaning of the world
• Want a religion that challenges them spiritual to become more involved in the lives of others
• Tenets of faith are tested through critical reasoning and every tenet is put to the test
• Articulate spiritual experiences well but have a harder time articulating facts surrounding their traditions

Millennials
• The world is full of uncertainty so they seek things they can depend on, things that have stood the test of time, things they regard as true, and things that are greater than themselves
• Share a lot in common with Pre-Boomers (the Greatest Generation)
• Long for certitude and a God who orders everything and makes sense of the world
• “the most watched over generation in history”
• Accept authority figures as trustworthy and believe rules are good
• Respond to preaching that instructs because they want quick answers
• Need relief from the saturation of the media
• Need a place of quiet mystery and reflection
• But they will participate in communal activities that discuss individual salvation and with strong symbols of religiosity
• Tenets of faith are tested by whether or not a person can measure up to them
• Believe in absolute truth
• Can articulate their beliefs but have no idea why they believe it
• Need (and open to) mentoring by older more experienced adults

Both
• Appreciate the mystical sense of the Divine
• Seek a theology that is contemplative and demanding