One-fifth of Americans are religiously unaffiliated — higher than at any time in recent U.S. history — and those younger than 30 especially seem to be drifting from organized religion. A third of young Americans say they don't belong to any religion.
Voltaire, the 18th Century French cynic, wrote: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” This quip is often quoted cynically. But in fact, he was being perfectly sincere. He was arguing that belief in God is necessary for society to function, even if he didn’t approve of the monopoly the church held over that belief. From the earliest civilization, man has always been religious. He found the need to worship someone or something.
There are many reasons people are leaving organized religions. Here are some of the reasons young people gave:
Hypocritical behavior in the lives of professing believers
The problem of suffering in the world
Mega churches have millions of dollars but they are not actively reaching the needy
Probably the biggest reason is they do not believe religion is relevant today.
If the church is going to reach this generation, they must be willing to change. For change to occur, we must listen to this younger generation. We need to include them in making decisions to make decisions. One of the main reasons the church is unable to see any positive change is that they don’t allow room for younger members to have a part in the changes being made.
The biggest group that has faced holy discrimination is the LGBTQ community. The traditional church is totally against homosexuality. The church cannot expect the gay person to change BEFORE they are accepted into the church. We can love/accept the person without condemning them. Somehow the church is more willing to forgive the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, the greedy, drunkards and swindlers before they would even consider forgiving the LGBTQ community even if they are not practicing homosexuality.
The church must teach/preach a message that is relevant. What millennials need are teachings that closely align with what they are experiencing. What millennials need are teachings that resonate with a young 35-year-old single mother. What millennials need are teachings that could be useful for a 20-year-old college student dealing with financial and personal stress.
The only way to stop the exodus from our churches is to be willing to change. Like how badly does the church want to attract a younger audience? What measures is the church willing to take to capture the millennial generation? What is the church willing to give up bringing more souls to Christ?
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