The Christian Right loses the future
This CNN report on young evangelical Christians shows how the increasingly militant and extremist Christian Right is doomed in the long run even while it appears (and in many ways is) more threatening in the short term. Much of its own younger generation is turning against the cultural values it represents.
62% of "millennials" (people age 18-to-29) support gay marriage, for example, compared with 47% of the general public; even 49% of young Republicans do, compared with 31% of all Republicans. The younger generation is similarly more liberal on abortion, pre-marital sex, and re-distribution of wealth.
These generational differences are reflected in church affiliation and political behavior. The report cites a 43% drop in church attendance between the teenage years and early adulthood, as younger Christians are driven away by their churches' crabby and cranky rantings on sexuality and gay issues. 33% of young white evangelical Christians voted for Obama in 2008.
Right-wingers may take comfort from the belief that people get more conservative with age, but that is, in fact, just a common belief which happens not to be true.
Clearly, much of the younger generation of evangelicals has little in common with the established Christian Right, has little basis for loyalty to the broader Republican party, and may even end up deserting evangelical Christianity itself in the long run, for the mushy and meaningless "spirituality" that is so common these days, even if not for outright atheism.
62% of "millennials" (people age 18-to-29) support gay marriage, for example, compared with 47% of the general public; even 49% of young Republicans do, compared with 31% of all Republicans. The younger generation is similarly more liberal on abortion, pre-marital sex, and re-distribution of wealth.
These generational differences are reflected in church affiliation and political behavior. The report cites a 43% drop in church attendance between the teenage years and early adulthood, as younger Christians are driven away by their churches' crabby and cranky rantings on sexuality and gay issues. 33% of young white evangelical Christians voted for Obama in 2008.
Right-wingers may take comfort from the belief that people get more conservative with age, but that is, in fact, just a common belief which happens not to be true.
Clearly, much of the younger generation of evangelicals has little in common with the established Christian Right, has little basis for loyalty to the broader Republican party, and may even end up deserting evangelical Christianity itself in the long run, for the mushy and meaningless "spirituality" that is so common these days, even if not for outright atheism.
posted by Infidel753 at 1:37 AM
2 Comments:
This is indeed encouraging. After a family reunion or some other get together, I'm beginning to think the whole damn world has gone nuts.
Obviously. You know your tag-line? They aren't fun. What do teenagers want other than beer and sex? Not some miserable sod banging-on about hellfire and damnation that's for sure!
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