wfn.org | Religious Habits

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (482
notes).

Note 479 by UMNS on Nov. 26, 1997 at 16:03 Eastern (3838 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Green						  667(10-71B){479}
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615)742-5470				Nov. 26, 1997

Religious habits study could help reverse 
membership decline, says seminary professor

	A professor at United Methodist-related Duke University Divinity School,
Durham, N.C., believes data from a recent study of religious habits will help
reverse the decline in church membership.
The Rev. Jackson W. Carroll, professor of religion and society, and Wade Clark
Roof,  a professor of religion and society at the University of California
Santa Barbara, surveyed the church-going habits, worship styles and religious
beliefs of 1,150 North Carolinians and Southern Californians to obtain
concrete answers about their religious and congregational life. 
	By telephone and face-to-face interviews and by questionnaires, Generation
Xers -- people born between 1964 and 1979; Baby Boomers  -- born between 1946
and 1963; and Pre-boomers -- born prior to 1946, were surveyed.
According to Carroll,  one of the study’s most striking findings was the
difference between the family experiences of Xers and those of the two older
generations. "Forty-five percent of the Xers went through some sort of family
disruption — the divorce or separation of their parents or they were raised by
a single parent," he reported. "That compares to 27 percent of the Boomers and
23 percent of the Pre-boomers."
	Family disruption, he said, could be the result of the low percentage of Xers
who said they were not involved in religion while growing up. He said that in
North Carolina and California, the survey shows that 35 percent of Xers
indicated religious involvement while growing up, compared with 45 percent of
Boomers and 53 percent of Pre-boomers.
	"This represents a striking decline in involvement among the three
generations," Carroll said. "Xers evidently felt less pressure or
encouragement to participate in religious activities than their parents or
grandparents."
	He said more than 80 percent of each group have a belief in God and the
majority of all three generations expressed dissatisfaction with "the
spiritual vitality of their congregations."
	While religious involvement and understanding is not "strikingly" different
between Xers and Boomers, Carroll said, "they are very different from
Pre-boomers.
Stating that Xers and Boomers are more interested in autonomy, freedom,
independent thought and religious exploration and are not committed to
institutional religious involvement,  Carroll said, "churches need to take
those differences into account and not take for granted that people have been
raised in a religious tradition. 
Churches, he said, can’t assume that young people are informed about religion,
Christian tradition or the Bible. "That means that there is a major
educational task facing churches today," he said. 
	The results of the study, Carroll said, indicate that the greatest church
attendance are in those "that function like a shopping mall."
	"People pick and choose among small groups that meet their particular needs
like a variety of shops and boutiques. And they come in and out," Carroll
said. "Churches have to find a way of encouraging a greater sense of
commitment, longer staying power and offer more direction."
	In the midst of this encouragement, Carroll cautions churches about the
dangers of traditional abandonment.
	"The ultimate challenge is to find one’s way between an over-reliance on
traditional ways of doing things and an over-reliance on innovation for Christ
s sake," he said. "There really does need to be a discovery of what it means
to be faithful and free to respond to new situations, but at the same time we
should guard against tossing out tradition just to be relevant."
# # #

	Data for this article was provided by a Duke University press release.
	

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