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Studying Millenials - Spiritual Beliefs & Practices

Lifeway Research has published data from it's study of millennial (born 1980 thru 1991: currently 19-30 years old) that show their spiritual beliefs. Summary: "Two-thirds of American 'Millennials' – those born between 1980 and 1991 – call themselves Christian, but far fewer pray or read the Bible daily, attend weekly worship services, or hold to historical positions on the Bible and its teachings" Practices:
  • 31% pray by themselves at least once a day
  • 20% never pray
  • 8% pray with others on a daily basis
  • 65% rarely or never pray with other people.
  • 67% say they rarely or never do read "sacred texts"
  • 8% read the Bible or other sacred texts on a daily basis
  • 21% percent do so at least once a week
  • 25% attend religious worship services once a week or more
  • 66% rarely or never visit a church, synagogue, mosque or temple
  • 20% meet with others at least monthly in a small group to study the Bible or other sacred texts, but 80 percent rarely or never do so

Beliefs:

  • 65% identify themselves as Christian
  • 14% say they are atheist or agnostic
  • 14% list no religious preference
  • 8% claim other religions
  • 53% disagree (strongly or somewhat) that the Bible is the written Word of God and is totally accurate in all it teaches
  • 46% agree strongly & 26% agree somewhat that God is a real being, not just a concept. 28% disagree somewhat or strongly
  • 40% agree strongly or somewhat that the devil, or Satan, is not a real being but is just a symbol of evil
  • 50% agree strongly or somewhat that "when he lived on earth, Jesus Christ was human and committed sins, like other people." Only 30% strongly disagree.
  • 31% agree strongly that Jesus is the only path to heaven.
  • 70% believe heaven in a real place; 60% believe hell is a real place.
  • 25% believe they will go to heaven after they die, because they have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior
  • 16% believe they will go to heaven after they die because they have tried their best to be a good person and live a good life
  • 4% believe they will go to heaven after they die because "God loves all people and will not let any of them perish."
James 5:19-20 "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." May we be a people used by God to turn many to worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Quote - William Booth

"God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible." William Booth

Studying Millenials - Priorities of Life

Lifeway Research just summarized a study of Millenials (those born between 1980 & 1991: currently 19 to 30 years old) that shows what is most important in their lives. The findings... (permitted to list more than one priority)
  • 61% place family at the top of their priority lists
  • 25 % Friends
  • 17% Education
  • 16% Careers/jobs
  • 13% Spouses/partners
  • 13% Spirituality/religion
  • 12% Finances
  • 12% Happiness
  • 11% Raising kids
  • 10% Health
  • 9% Activities
  • 9% Well-being
  • 5% The future
  • 5% Nature/pets
  • 4% Use of time

Some concerning aspects of this study:

  • "two-thirds of those who indicate they trust Christ as Savior mention nothing about faith, religion or spirituality when asked to name what’s really important in their lives"
  • “For many Millennials, Christianity is a family heirloom rather than a faith commitment. The Christian faith in America is being passed to a generation that is slow to embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ and even slower to treasure it.” - Thom Rainer

Family, friends, education, jobs, health, marriage, children, etc. are all good things to value. Unfortunately, when those areas of our life take priority over Jesus, they become god-things: idols.

Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me."

May we be a generation that treasures Christ above all else.

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