Christian Smith: Souls in Transition

I also wanted to discuss what I heard from Christian Smith's lecture. Christian Smith is a sociologist at Notre Dame who did some fascinating research on teenagers-young adults and their spirituality. He has written many books, many of which I intend to read if I have any TIME ever. He presented research in this particular lecture that is associated with his new book, Souls in Transition, which is about the spiritual lives of 18-23 year olds. This goes along nicely with my last post/ other things I've been thinking about.

His research findings can be found on his website http://www.youthandreligion.org/.

At the lecture he described "emerging adulthood" (again, see my last post). Some characteristics he gave to this time period of ages 18-29: extensive life transitions, instability, sense of vast opportunities and hope for personal life (although there is not so much hope for politics, etc.), confusion, anxiety, and self-obsession. So, Smith's question is: "What happens to religious faith and practice in emerging adulthood?" His research is on ALL religions (including atheism) so this is not just research on Christians).

Here are some cultural and structural features of dominant religious culture of 18-23 year olds (now, this is the 18-23 year old norm, he is painting in broad strokes):

-Religion is not a threatening topic to this demographic.
-They're indifferent to religion, don't think it is relevant.
-They think there are "shared central principles" of religions, that all religions are good.
-They think that religious particularities are peripheral (i.e. the point of religion is to make you a good person).
-Assumption that religion is an "elementary school for morals," or like driver's ed- you go to church to help you be a good person
-Don't feel like churches are places of belonging
-Friends hardly talk about religion
-Religion beliefs= cognitive assents (statements of belief), rather than life drivers, i.e. religion is something you say you believe in rather than something that guides your daily life
-You can take or leave what you want of a religion- it is like a buffet, you can take a little bit of Hinduism, a little Judaism, mix it around
-Evidence and proof trump "blind faith"- emphasis on positivist science, empiricism
-Little hostility toward mainstream religion
-Faith= a personal, private matter, not social or institutional- don't need the church
-No way to finally know what's true (interchange the words "belief" and "opinion"

These characteristics reflect what's going on in adult culture and reflect this idea that religion= moralism.

Smith identified 6 major types of religious "types" of 18-23 year olds:

1. Committed traditionalists- 15%- these are your typical white protestants, Mormons, evangelicals
2. Selective adherents- 30%- buffet style religious people, taking a little from different religions
3. Spiritually open- 15%- but not actively pursuing faith
4. Religiously indifferent- 25%
5. Religiously disconnected- 5%- know nothing of religion at all
6. Irreligious- 10%

In terms of how 18-23 year old's faith changed since their teenage years, many 18-23 year olds had a stable religious trajectory (22.6%). 27.1%'s religiosity had a "shallow decline" into the college years. 17.4% of 18-23 year olds had a "low stable" decline compared to the teenage years. The majority had relatively stable religious transition going from teenage years into the early 20s.

Factors that correlated with stable commitment:
1. Personal faith commitment
2. Committed and practicing parents
3. Other supportive religious adults in the congregation
4. Sexual chastity
5. Being made fun of by others for faith (!!!!!- but can be explained by social psychology)

Less important factors:
1. Church attendance
2. Religion helped with moral decisions

So parents matter in helping form their children's faith!! They matter a lot.

I leave you with what Smith wrote in his thought-provoking book Soul Searching (on teenagers). One of his chapters is entitled, "God, Religion, Whatever." That is sooooooo what I see many people my age (not at Calvin, I'm thinking more at U of M) believing about religion.

Smith also describes this interesting "religion" called "moralistic therapeutic deism":

1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to e particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

He summarizes it in this way: "In short, God is something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist: he is always on call, takes care of any problems that arise, professionally helps his people to feel better about themselves, and does not become too personally involved in the process" (165).