Photo by Angel A. Acevedo
“Only one in three Canadian young adults who attended church weekly as a child still does so today,” says James Penner, lead author of Hemorrhaging Faith: Why and When Canadian Young Adults are Leaving, Staying and Returning to Church.
Hemorrhaging Faith is a study commissioned by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry Roundtable and carried out by James Penner and Associates, based in Lethbridge, Alberta. It is partly based on a survey of 2,049 Canadian young adults (18-34) who had indicated that they were raised in the church, conducted in the summer of 2011 by Angus Reid Forum. The study also included a comprehensive survey of literature on the subject and in-depth one-on-one interviews with 72 young adults.
Almost all of those surveyed attended church as children, 69% of them regularly (weekly) and 30% sporadically. As adults, only 27% attend regularly, and 35% never attend at all. Further, three-quarters of the non-attenders do not even identify with their Christian tradition; mostly, they have not converted to other religions but describe themselves as being spiritual, agnostic or atheist or as having no religion.
Only one-fifth of Roman Catholics and only one-third of mainline Protestants who attended church regularly still does so as an adult. The news is slightly better for evangelicals; for every three evangelical regular attenders in childhood, only two still regularly attend in young adulthood.
Facing the Problem
Those responsible for the study say that the purpose of the study is to get people talking about the issues.
“We hope this provokes a discussion,” says Rick Hiemstra of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). “We’d like the church to realize the magnitude of the problem.”
The report is available for $15 on the website hemorrhagingfaith.com. Readers can comment there, but Hiemstra says he hopes leaders of local churches will read the report and discuss it among themselves, including what they can do about the problem.
Barriers and Drivers
Penner and Hiemstra also hope that churches will not just discuss the problem but do something about it. Heimstra says the study shows “some practical things” churches can do. In part, this is because the study analyzes why young adults leave church and why they stay,
There study found four key factors which either create barriers to faith or which “drive” young people to faith.
The first is whether they have experienced God directly. Penner says, “If young adults say they have experienced God, they are far more likely to be in church.” The study asks, “Why does God seem to reveal himself to some and not to others? We won’t pretend to know.” However, the authors point out that if this first factor is beyond a church’s control, the other factors are not.
The second factor is whether young people consider their church community to be vibrant or contaminated by hypocrisy and judgmentalism.
The third factor has to do with theology and morality. The study shows that some young people reject Christianity because of rigid positions on morality and theology. On the other hand, the study also shows that evangelical churches, which tend to be more rigid on these issues, also do the best job of keeping their young people.
The fourth key factor is the spiritual fervor of parents. The study states, “If parents model a vibrant faith, their children are likely to also engage in a vibrant faith that is likely to extend into their adult years.”
These factors are spelled out in considerably more detail in the study.
A Cross-Cultural Mission
One of the things that came out of the study is the realization that the younger generation is different.
Hiemstra says the study is “a signal to the church that this generation will hear the gospel in a different place.” Therefore, churches need to approach ministry to the younger generation “as cross-cultural missions.” “We think that if we preach the same way, in English, the kids will understand,” Hiemstra says, but they won’t. The culture has changed and is continuing to change.
Hiemstra stresses that church doctrine does not have to change, but that how people accept that doctrine has changed. Young people will no longer accept rational presentations of doctrine on the basis of institutional authority. They are willing to study the Bible, but “you have to explore Scripture with them, not just present pat answers” – and church leaders need to “answer the tough questions.”
Hiemstra explains. “This generation doesn’t trust what you say” but “discerns truth through experience.” Therefore, sending young people to summer camps and on short-term missions trips and giving them an opportunity to take leadership roles are crucial.
Penner notes that young people are idealistic: “They are looking for a faith that will change them and transform the world.” This means that a lukewarm faith will not cut it. Penner noted that only 12 percent of those surveyed had a mother or father who regularly attended church, prayed and read the Bible. Penner stated that those young adults who had a consistent, fervent role model and mentor often became fervent Christians themselves. Conversely, those who had an inconsistent Christian upbringing did no better than those who had no Christian input at all.
Prophetic Warning
In this sense, Penner says, young adults are “canaries in the coal mine” or “indicator species,” warning signs that all is not well in the ecology of the church. They are a “prophetic call” for a “self-emptying church” to follow the example of the “self-emptying Christ” in Philippians 2. Churches that are vibrant usually keep their young people while churches that are not vibrant do not. “Faith is sticky,” the study says.
This is why spiritually vibrant parents are key to young people having a vibrant faith. But it is not just parents who need to have a vibrant faith. Hiemstra says it is important for young people to see “consistent mature Christians” living out a vibrant faith and mentoring young people. This includes youth leaders, he says, but it is also important to have such people “outside the program” such as the “elderly woman who prays regularly for young people, someone who knows them and will walk with them.”
This is the reason that, in an age of individualism and consumerism, it is important to remain part of a church. Penner says the idea that individuals can be spiritually healthy on their own doesn’t usually work. “If you leave the community, you leave the conversation, and worldview hangs on the thread of conversation. Young people start to doubt there is a God if they are no longer part of a community where that view is reinforced.”
The need for consistent mentoring is related to another key finding of the study. Churches must pay attention to transitions, Hiemstra says, because young people are often lost at transition points. And, surprisingly, more are lost at the transition from elementary school to high school than at the transition from high school to college. Young people are also lost in the transition when one youth pastor replaces another and even when one senior pastor replaces another. Penner suggests churches are often too quick to start and stop programs and change staff; he says they should consider whether there is some merit in Eugene Peterson’s call for “30-year pastorates.”
In sum, this study highlights not so much a problem with young adults as a problem with Canadian churches. On the other hand, Hiemstra and Penner say the changes that are needed are “in the control of churches.” Like Joshua and Caleb looking at the Promised Land in Joshua 1, Penner says that church leaders should not see the current situation to be characterized by problems and difficulties but by opportunities and invitations. They should see that “This land is ours for the taking.”
In my personal opinion, I’d say the second and third reasons are probably the most common; the other two are pretty unlikely/ridiculous. For most people I know who are “recovering from the church”, it’s dogma and bigotry that drove them out, combined with just “not buying in” anymore… Many folks feel the religion is becoming outdated, being too full of people who spew intolerance and dogma, and are looking instead for a different spiritual path where they can better humanity by finding peace, acceptance, and love for one another.
I feel that a lot of christians that I have the pleasure of being acquainted with have a lot of love and acceptance for their fellow humans, but the religion itself lends itself to misinterpretation and twisting much too easily. Instead of actually listening to the chapters about Christ, folks get bogged down in dogma from the old testament, and take the christian bible much too literally rather than metaphorically, as it was likely meant to be read as.
I hope that helps with the question.
Emma has it spot on. There is no hiding any more. The church can’t use fear, like it use to, to maintain a following. Christianity, if you do your research, is bullshit. People who believe are delusional. The church will continue to shrink simply because humans are better than that.
This is not to say Christians are bad people, or that every idea the church has isn’t good. It simply isn’t relevant anymore.
Happened upon this site. Guess it hasn’t occurred to any of the internet savy folks seeking a terminal case of the warm fuzzies that pseudo Christianity is an anmalgam of the doctrines of sun worshippers in Rome and some Jews who thought Christ was the messiah. Never really saw an analysis of who contributed more to the new God in Man’s image church that resulted.
My guess is that even though most youth are woefully uninformed about anything other than their feelings that one of those feelings is that they’ve been sold a bill of goods.
Mind you, this is just an old heathen’s point of view
I can only speak for the intellectuals who have left the church, not for those who leave because it’s not cool, however, as an adult who left the church as a teenager, I can tell you that the reason the majority of us are leaving is because we’ve been raised in the age of information. We have the internet at our fingertips and we can research any issue or idea we want and have the information available to us within seconds. I know for a fact that evolution has happened, and continues to happen, and that the vast majority of Christians don’t even know the true theory of evolution, only a biased version of it, because few Christians research anything not of Christianity. I’m using evolution as an example of many things that have been proven, time and time again. We are an ideological generation, but put the emphasis on the logical aspect. Christianity is not logical. When you see the world through a filter of logic, you can’t ignore the things in the bible that do not add up. You can’t ignore that you hear Christians say one thing and see them do another. Regardless of how we were raised or what you tell us, we don’t let people tell us what to believe, and we are absolutely right in not doing so. We form opinions and make decisions by ourselves. There are dozens of reasons why we are leaving and one of them is because you make generalizations like those in this article, and expect us all to fit into this one category. We are a diverse species and we all react differently to every situation.
I wouldn’t look at what you can do to change the church, I would look at what you can do to change yourselves.
I am an intellectual. I am logical. I agree that the Church could do a better job of responding to the information age challenges. But the in depth research has been done and it demonstrates the authenticity of Christianity. Lee Strobel’s books, Case for Christ and Case for the Real Jesus are examples of demonstrating the evidence. People experience God’s Holy Spirit today, just like in the time of Moses and Jesus. So God is still present today, just as before.
Where you and I disagree, is that there is a lack of evidence. The evidence, scientific, historical, spiritual and logic is there, but you need to seek it out, if you wish to find the truth.
Jesus offers a chance for eternal life in a place where love dominates. He offers us the opportunity to start to experience this place in our lifetime if we turn to Him. And proof of this lives in each person who keeps “oil in their lamp” (oil = Holy Spirit). Its a shame many people chose to turn away.
Firstly, I do not say any of this to insult anyone. I think that one of the great things about being human and having differences of opinion is that we can learn from each other. My intentions are simply civil discourse with the objective of learning from each other.
Now here we go… you cannot be logical and Christian. Unless, I suppose, if you’re logical and ignorant. Christianity is not rational in any way. Sure there is “evidence” of Christianity, however that evidence, for the most part, proves only that some of the things described in the bible did actually happen. I won’t refute that. I believe that Jesus lived. But I believe that he was just a man. A really wonderful man, who tried to show people their own personal power. There are a few cases of scientists finding evidence that God exists, and there is INNUMERABLE cases of scientists disproving the existence of God. It has been proven over and over again that the earth is billions of years old. And that life forms on this planet have been evolving for those billions of years. If you already believe you know what the result of your research is going to be, of course you’re going to find something to “prove” your case.
As for people experiencing God and the holy spirit; being in the world of psychology, I know that if you convince yourself of something thoroughly enough, you can create physical manifestations. I’ve seen it happen over and over, in and out of the church. And I’ve experienced it personally.
I have such a big problem with the concept of “Christian love.” You claim that God IS unconditional love and that you as Christians strive for that same love. Yet God encourages eating meat and sacrificing animals (I know that ended with the Old Testament, but in your opinion it still happened). So then God unconditionally loves humans, but not other animals, thereby putting a condition on this unconditional love. How is that logically consistent? I use logically consistent as a nicer term than hypocritical in this case. Even if I believed in a God, I would never serve a hypocritical (and egotistical) one.
I think it’s a shame that so many people adopt such a narrow minded view of the world. That’s a really limiting life that I would never want to live. However, we are all SO different! What’s right for you is most likely not what is right for me. I believe that Christianity may be the right path for some people. It’s a great coping mechanism. Buddhist-influenced Atheism is the way for me, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you turn out to be right, and I burn in hell for all of eternity, at least I’ll have memories of living a happy life full of love and so much fun, so much laughter and more dancing than most people will ever know. And at least I’ll be there with amazing people who aren’t prejudiced and self-righteous (if you believe that you aren’t self-righteous, can I ask how exactly it is that your opinion holds more value and more truth than that of anyone else with a differing opinion?). To draw from a pretty amazing quote, if you’re right, then I sincerely look forward to meeting the Buddha and Mohammad and spending an eternity with Ghandi.
Emma, maybe you are not as logical as you think. You write, ” . . . how exactly it is that your opinion holds more value and more truth than that of anyone else with a differing opinion?” –This after forcefully expressing your opinion with the apparent intention of influencing others. Unless one is adopting the view that we owe nothing to our fellow-human-beings, one must believe that it is wrong to harm others simply for our own benefit. To believe otherwise would be to take the viewpoint of a criminal psychopath. So we believe the superiority of the opinion that doing good to others is superior to trying to harm them.
If she’s right, you won’t be spending eternity with anyone. You’ll be in solitary, excruciatingly torturous confinement for all of eternity and so, by the way, will all the rest you hope to see there.
Emma, your praise of the “Information Age” is downright naive. You believe that it affords you the freedom to research any topic you want in order to make an informed decision. But in reality, the internet merely provides a quick and unbelievably effective avenue for practically anyone to tell you what to believe. In the Information Age, no longer is truth and wisdom learned through experiential education; rather, we are encouraged to simply accept evidence which has been conveniently interpreted (and sometimes blatantly manipulated) for us by “professionals” according to a specific philosophical worldview.
Your “proofs” of the age of the earth are a laughable topic. The vast majority of the ones I have seen are based on assumptions and manipulated data. It seems obvious to me that estimations of the age of the earth have continually evolved in order to stay in accordance with unsubstantiated ideas about evolution.
Would you mind sharing with us these “physical manifestations” that you apparently have personally witnessed as a result of purely psychological processes?
Your statement concerning God loving humans and not “other animals” is quite confusing to me. You’re assuming that humans are just animals. What leads you to conclude that? According to the Scriptures, the law was given for our benefit. The law extends to us the responsibility of stewardship over the earth and all that is in it, including animals. At the same time, we should recognize that animal meat has always been an important and beneficial part of our diet. Can you imagine what would happen to certain animal populations if we were to suddenly stop consuming a percentage of them?
Many of your other statements have significant bias behind them and are full of speculation and intimidation tactics. But I think the ones I have addressed above are sufficient to start with.
If the church wants this generation of young people back they’re going to have to step into the 21st century and stop being so backwards and archaic about everything. Society is changing (for the better, in my opinion) and is becoming more inclusive and progressive, especially with regards to women and LGBT persons. The church largely seems stuck in the past on these issues and so young people are slipping away. The church is seen as sexist and homophobic, instead of being known for the “love you neighbor as yourself” message of Christ.
You’re absolutely right, Sara. I left the church for many reasons, one of which was because the message of “unconditional love” is in fact conditional love. You can’t boast a religion centered on such a love when you outwardly protest the right for a person to love whomever they choose. It is simply hypocrisy.
Emma, may I kindly correct you? Please realize that limits can be loving. If person A loves person B, then person A wants what is best for person B. It is obvious that we are designed to marry only opposite-sex persons. Thus, what is best is a true, opposite-sex, marriage. Hence, if person A wants a same-sex “marriage” for person B, then person A does *not* love person B.
Oh “Truth”, you finally showed up in this dialogue. How lovely!
“It is obvious that we are designed to marry only opposite-sex persons.”
Truth is indeed narrow, after all.
I guess you’re basing this on reproduction, or something? Well, the same logic can be used to say it’s obvious women should be subject to men. The bible says so. Every religion has it’s history of such. Women are smaller and weaker than men. Clearly they are meant to be followers, to be “chattle.” It’s obvious.
In fact, the bible speaks way more about the submission of women to men that it every does about homosexuality.
To follow the bible literally, like Truth does, means we can also justify slavery. Which, as we know, was done for many years.
(I might also add, it is very possible to believe in God and also believe in evolution. It is also possible to be a Christian and realize parts of the bible were never meant to be in the canon. There’s lots of mystery in life, one has to accept that reality. And guess what – no one gets to know the whole truth. But we can know God, who is (the real) Truth)
So yeah, “Truth” here, would be an excellent reason why people are rolling their eyes, heading out the door of the church, never to return.
I think “marry” was the wrong word. As I read it, Emma’s interest in logic would point out that in the natural world, homosexuality is commonplace. Marriage is a human institution, procreation is not. The idea of marriage for love is modern, while marriage for protection or success is ages old.
If marriage reflected the natural order, then using ‘meant to’ wouldn’t be problematic. But, it doesn’t. Among mammals, procreation is a heterosexual affair. Love, companionship, warmth: those things have nothing to do with procreation as an act.
A certain group alone cannot be blamed for young people leaving. They leave because they want to. It is not programs and music that make the church what is should be, but the power of the Holy Spirit, alive and active in every heart. Yes, admittedly, methods or the dogmatic cling to them can choke out life, and there are some things that need changing. It is however, only love for God, and His word, and a desire to be part of His body that will keep people, young or old from leaving.
I believe that young people are leaving the church because the church is “old”, simply that. Unless the structure and function of the church changes to accommodate the ageless yearning of the heart to know God, it will continue its decline. One of the most powerful messages that Jesus gave was that “the Kingdom of Heaven is Within”. Perhaps the young people are finally learning to look into their own hearts, where Jesus truly resides, not into the archaic and contradictory labyrinths of the interpretation of scripture, which is, at the best of times, arbitrary. The message of Jesus was delivered to the ‘salt of the earth’ – in open meadows and street-corners, simply because it came from the heart and needed no external edifices to validate it.
You’d be wrong there; a lot of “recovering christians” switch to primal goddess tradition which is many ages older than christianity.
I find it interesting that the switch of most churches, to contemporary music for worship, hasn’t kept the young people in…..also interesting that evangelicals, who hold “more rigidly” to traditional values, hold their young people better….perhaps the ‘old-time religion’ was better than the current? I think young people need to have ‘living the model’ of the Bible, in their elders, not “rigidly”, as this article puts it, but with love and compassion. They don’t need ‘celebration’ services. They need to be shown how to revere God, to make Him first in their lives and WORSHIP Him, They think they want the ‘celebration’ services, but most young people also rebel to some degree, at what their parents want, but… “train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it” (Prov 22: 6).
We must engage these young adults into every aspect of the Church. We are Evangelical non denominational and have engaged our youth and young adults to be involved in praise and worship, video, audio, lighting, childrens church, maintenance, dance teams, Baptism, cafe and any other areas of ministry we have. We also have young adult couples (30′s) as elders. Our Pastor’s vision to have the younger generation involved in every area possible, connecting these age groups solidly in their Faith and raisng up the next generation to do greater things than we ourselves have done in the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
WE have to make the gospel attractive, uncompromising, and world-changing. We have to encourage young people to not be pew warmers but to be active citizens in the church community and beyond.
[...] Why are Canadian young people leaving the church? James Penner has written a report exploring this question. You can read about it at http://canadianchristianity.com/news/national/why-canadian-young-people-are-leaving-the-church/. [...]
Legalism must go and love must always be our focus, we are not saved by law but by grace so least we boast….
I wish more christians thought the same way. Love should be the primary focus for all humans, regardless of religion.
Unfortunately, love must be taught; it is not natural. Dissent is more natural. Love is ideal. Fostering love requires institutions, but the first institution to preach love should not be a Sunday club. It should start at home.
But love will never work its way into schools or business simply because it is incongruent with survival. Survival requires guts, sacrifice, venom, and violence. It requires rift. That is why companies that produce toothpaste, belts, hair brushes, and pencils and so on, are multitudinous.
We do not agree, cannot agree. Agreement and love mean stagnation.
While important as an ideal, love isn’t practical. This sudden kick for love will be replaced by another kick as humanity as a whole discovers what it needs to keep the edge along every one of its cultural, political, linguistic, and national borders.
It is why the Bible aims for the end. The Bible encompasses an ideal. And that ideal is incongruous with nature. If accomplished, the world – humanity certainly – must end.
“But love will never work its way into schools or business simply because it is incongruent with survival.”
Is it possible for you to substantiate this statement with actual, verifiable evidence, rather than merely stating matter-of-fact that things other than love result in survival?
“That is why companies that produce toothpaste, belts, hair brushes, and pencils and so on, are multitudinous.”
I’m pretty sure there are so many of those companies because the global demand for these products is so large; it is necessary for there to be a multitude of companies to satisfy that demand.
“If accomplished, the world – humanity certainly – must end.”
Wildly imaginative statement…I’ll give you that.
It saddens me deeply as I witness our precious youth walk away from something that is the most awesome gift our Lord has given us. I make no excuses. This article hit the issue bang on. The harvest is ready but the workers are few. So where do we start?