Millennials are shifting away from traditional religion

Graphic+by+Rob+Dawdy.

Graphic by Rob Dawdy.

Story by Rob Dawdy

At the age of 13, I was confirmed into the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I attended a private Lutheran high school, and now I go to a private Methodist college, which may seem surprising considering I’ve never really been religious.

The questions of God and the afterlife just don’t seem as important to me as they do to my parents and grandparents. In this way, I’m a lot like other U.S. Millennials.

According to Pew Research, Americans as a whole are becoming less religious. The percentage of U.S. adults who believe in God or who have a religious affiliation is decreasing.

Although 80 percent of younger Millennials (born 1990-1996) believe in God or religious concepts, this still shows a steady decline compared to older Millennials (1981-1989) at 84 percent and Gen Xers (1965-1980) at 89 percent.

“Statistics show that the more educated you are, the less likely you are to be religious,” Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Nicholaus Pumphrey said.

Pumphrey believes that the rise of secularism in America’s young Millennial generation may be a direct result of them being more involved in higher education than previous generations.

In addition, secular ideas and thoughts criticizing church traditions are becoming more widely available to younger minds through the internet.

“Long gone are the days that families went to church together,” Minister to the University Kevin Hopkins said. “They’re raised on the soccer fields, the baseball fields… They don’t have the core founding that kids did a decade ago.”

If you’ve never been to a Baker ceremony or chapel service you might not know that Baker University is a Methodist-affiliated school.

“Since our founding, Baker has held close ties with the Methodist Episcopal Church, which became the Methodist Church in 1939, and then the United Methodist Church in 1968 and has retained its affiliation,” reads the About page on the Baker University website. “As one of 196 colleges and universities in the United States with connections to the Church, we seek to continue a tradition of devotion to the Christian faith and academic excellence.”

Despite BU’s official affiliation with a church denomination, Alexis Lough, a BU student who is agnostic, does not feel out of place at Baker.

“I feel like this campus is pretty inclusive no matter what your religious background is, even though I sometimes wish I was more religious, so I could join more [religious] functions and be more comfortable with it.”

The changes in the religious U.S. population could have a direct effect on many staples of Baker’s spiritual services. The U.S. population that attends church services at least once a month has decreased to 50 percent.

“Obviously that statistic would ideally be a little higher,” senior Luke Miltz, who is actively involved in Baker’s religious programs, said. “A lot of people don’t really feel the need for a church community and regular church attendance to feel close to God.”

Hopkins isn’t overly worried, however.

“I look at those decreasing numbers,” Hopkins said “But here at Baker, our chapel is exploding. Every single week we have standing room only.”

He credits the success of Baker’s religious groups to students like Miltz taking leadership roles.

“There’s a spiritual fervor in this age group,” Hopkins said. “It’s just not connected to a denomination like it used to be.”

Christian practices are a part of Baker traditions and ceremonies but do not always have a tangible effect on campus life for the average student. For religious students on Baker’s campus, their faith usually does not involve confrontational evangelism but instead exhibits quiet caring through Christian ideals.

“I think that students may not be religious but are still searching for more of a spiritual connection. The caring atmosphere of this campus is how we can serve that spiritual connection,” senior Amanda Conrade, who is active on Student Activities Council, said. “When thinking about enrollment, there was not a focus about Baker’s connection with the Methodist Church, but maybe we should consider trying to do more of that.”

The percentage of U.S. Christians is not the only statistic that’s changing. Christians as a whole have become more accepting of homosexuality. According to the Pew Research Center, 54 percent of all Christians now accept homosexuality, an increase of 10 percent from seven years ago.

“Society has progressed,” Pumphrey said. “It’s on TV. It’s in the news… you have more of a face instead of this blank concept that you can scream at without knowing.”

With the increase of gays who have publically come out, homophobia has become less common, and many LGBT students are contributing to the campus community.

“Baker is already a pretty accepting place, and we are affiliated with a pretty liberal denomination relative to other faith traditions, so I think that kind of puts us ahead of the curve,” Miltz said. “Overall, it’s a really good progressive direction for young Christians to be moving so that we can stay relevant to the cultural context of today and so that we can continue to show others the love of Christ.”

Hopkins, Pumphrey and Miltz all noted that Baker University is generally highly accepting of homosexuality on campus. Baker’s Total Equality Alliance (TEA) provides a safe space for LGBT students to meet and discuss contemporary LGBT issues and the TEA mission statement says it is “building community and a safer campus for all.”

Pumphrey believes that the increasing acceptance of homosexuality can be explained by a phenomenon known as Contact Theory. The more exposure one has to LGBT groups, the more likely one will be to accept their lifestyles.

Baker’s chapel services are not fire-and-brimstone condemnations, which can make them seem more inclusive.

“I think that the chapel program and Reverend Hopkins in general do a really good job of creating a welcoming environment for people who may not have been raised in the church or may have been put off in the past,” Miltz said. “Because the message is just pretty relatable and pretty non-denominational.”