Why are Young People Leaving the Church?
// April 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Chaplaincy, Spiritual
I have been doing alot of thinking about why young people are drifting away from the church. There are many reasons and each case has different circumstances and factors, however, I believe there are a few main reasons that we should be aware of as Chaplains (or people who have an interest in seeing young people staying in church). One of these factors that is a cause for young people leaving the church is Consumerist Spirituality.
I have been reading some blogs from a youth commentator called Mark Sayers who explains Consumerist spirituality extremely well when he says… ” Today young adults worldview is deeply shaped by consumerism; it shapes how we purchase, how we relate, and how we shape our identities. In my research into why young adults leave church, I found consumerism to be one of the most dominant themes to emerge again and again. The worldview of consumerism deeply influences our spirituality. It creates an exchange were we expect instant returns for our investments. I constantly hear from young leaders who have left church after spending years volunteering their time. They tell me that they feel ripped off, that they have given and gotten nothing back, they view discipleship not as self-sacrificing service but rather a consumer exchange, in which instant gratification is sought. I kept finding young adults who when pressed were happy to follow Christ as long as he delivered a kind of consumerist heaven on earth. When this kind of heaven did not arrive, people became very disillusioned. Of course the advertising industry did not get the blame, God did, and active faith was ditched. Research done in both the United States and Australia reveals that young adults view God something akin to a “cosmic butler” to be called on in times of strife or need, but who then quietly exits so as not to cramp our style. Such a Jesus ultimately becomes subservient to us and our agenda. We rob him of his divinity, instead placing it upon ourselves. Jesus thus becomes the herald of lifestyle improvement; we follow him because he might be able to deliver us the consumer dream.” When we follow God because we are expecting a kind of consumer pay off; we have invested in a faith that cannot last, you can only church shop for so long. When we worship a God who we believe will make our even our wildest dreams come true we are not following the God of the bible. Believers who live out their faith through the matrix of consumerism will end up almost definitely outside of the church and very disappointed.”
If we draw young people into the church with the promises that God is the perfect ‘ad on’ that will deliver them great happiness and the perfect life with no real sacrifice on their part then is it no wonder, when this fails to materialise, that young people will leave the church disillusioned and go ’shop’ somewhere else.
Lets be careful to explain the true gospel message to our young people, a combination of God’s great love towards us but also the reality of ‘the narrow road’ that followers of Jesus are called to follow.
