Millennials’ Perspective on Christian Faith

By Daniel Kim

Recently, a joint study by the Public Religion Research Institute and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs found that younger Millennials, age 18-24, report high levels of movement away from religious affiliation. According to the report, “While only 11% of Millennials were religiously unaffiliated in childhood, one-quarter (25%) currently identify as unaffiliated, a 14-point increase.”

Personally, I do not find this statistic surprising. It merely validates what the church has already known for years.

What might be surprising are the three words the majority of religiously unaffiliated Millennials believe describes present-day Christianity. These words are “judgmental” (84%), “hypocritical” (84%), and “anti-gay” (79%). No wonder these Millennials are walking away from Christianity! But is this an accurate picture of Christianity? Scripture doesn’t portray Jesus as being judgmental, hypocritical or overtly anti-gay. Which makes me wonder, why is there such a large disconnect between what Christianity is and how people view it? Somehow we have become known more for what we are against than what we are for.

The three descriptors I personally would use to talk about Christianity are welcoming, forgiving, and redeeming. What three words would you use to describe Christian faith? And how can the church begin to inspire others to view Christianity in a similar way?

Posted May 07 2012 by

Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim is an MDiv student at Fuller Theological Seminary in the Youth, Family, and Culture program. He holds a BA in Economics from Pepperdine University. As a Project Assistant at FYI, he assists with website management, social media and graphic design. Daniel also serves as a volunteer at The Garden Christian Fellowship in Chatsworth, CA directing and leading the Middle School Ministry.

...read more by Daniel Kim