NCC Keynote Speaker: Young Adults are the ''New Faithful''
Colleen Carroll Campbell, award-winning journalist and author, called the young adults at the National Council of Churches (NCC) annual General Assembly as the “New Faithful” and explained “why young adults are embracing Christian orthodoxy,” on Nov. 8, 2004.
Campbell, a member of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington D.C., was the keynote speaker for the pre-assembly Young Adult Event sponsored by the NCC annual General Assembly.
According to Campbell, there are five main characteristics of the “New Faithful” that stands out from the mainline Christian crowd.
The characteristics, as listed by the NCC, are as follows:
• Hunger to know and experience the richness of their own religious tradition -- and to share their faith, resulting in not only Protestant evangelicals but also evangelical Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
• Rejection of a materialistic culture that does not seem to care about protecting life. As a result, nearly all oppose abortion. Unless the culture welcomes life at its earliest stages, they reason, it certainly won't welcome and protect it later. Some reject artificial contraception and are choosing to have large families.
• A tough, "highest common denominator" ecumenism. "They bring everything they are to the table, including the most controversial parts of their faith," Campbell said. "This is truth worth fighting for, not just holding hands and getting along."
• Service to the poor that grows out of the conversion experience. For the most part college educated, some join religious orders demanding absolute poverty, chastity and obedience; others form their own small groups committed to service; others do pro bono work or take jobs in rural or low-income communities.
The NCC Assembly, held jointly with the Church World Service annual meeting, opened on Nov. 9 in St. Louis.
