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TechnoratiAs fewer Americans identify themselves with Christianity, research indicates that those who remain Christian are redefining what "Christian" means.
Younger generations are not bound by traditional parameters of the Christian faith and instead are embracing values that are not necessarily based on biblical foundations, according to a recent analysis by The Barna Group.
Although faith is an acceptable attribute and pursuit among most young people, their notions of faith do not align with conventional religious perspectives or behavior, the research group reported on Monday.
Young Americans have adopted values such as goodness, kindness and tolerance, but they remain skeptical of the Bible, church traditions, and rules or behaviors based upon religious teaching.
They are also reformulating the popular notion of what the Christian life means. Traditional activity such as integrating discipline and regimen in personal faith development is becoming less popular; repeating the same weekly routines in religious events is increasingly deemed anachronistic, stifling and irrelevant; and rigidity of belief, including the notion that there are absolute moral and spiritual truths, is perceived by many young people as evidence of closed-mindedness.
Concluding from an earlier Barna study in May, David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group, had noted that most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs largely because they do not possess a coherent biblical worldview. The study found that fewer Americans were embracing a traditional view of God and the Bible.
"They lack a consistent and holistic understanding of their faith," he said.
New faith practices that are now in vogue include pursuing spiritual diversity in conversations and relationships; embracing racial diversity and tolerance; valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual education; blending all forms of the arts and novel forms of instruction into religious events; and accepting divergent forms of spiritual community.
"The result is a nouveau form and structure for the Christian faith that will have broad-based consequences on the practice of Christianity for years to come," the latest report stated.
The image of the Christian faith has also taken a beating.
Media criticism, "unchristian" behavior by church people, bad personal experiences with churches, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crises and the like have given rise to this "battered" image, according to the report.
A September study had found that young Americans outside Christianity have more negative perceptions than positive of the Christian faith. A majority say that Christianity is judgmental, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, old-fashioned and too involved in politics.
At the same time, 91 percent of evangelicals believe that Americans are becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity.
Analysis of interviews conducted over the past year identified several other patterns significantly affecting the development of American culture, including Americans' unconditional self-love and parenting trends.
Americans have a high opinion of themselves, Barna studies underscored. Most describe themselves as loyal, reliable, an independent thinker, supportive of traditional family values, clear about the meaning and purpose of their life, making a positive difference in the world, and well-informed about current events. A majority also say they are open to new ideas and easily adapt to change. Continue »
