Some Comparisons between Australia and Canada
In many churches, the younger cohort of today's church
attenders are in their forties. Their teenage children are at home, sleeping in. But what do those teenagers think about spiritual issues?
Young church attenders are a minority group in both of their
respective populations. Less than 8% of those in their twenties attend church weekly (ACS 1998). The National Church Life Survey has just released results from the 2001 Survey which indicate that most denominations continue to age. Overall, 15 to 29 year olds represent just 14 per cent of all Australian church attenders (NCLS Newsletter, May 2002). In the wider Australian community, the same age group makes up 28% of the population (Hughes 1997).
Yet, far from irreligious, there is much evidence that many
younger people are 'strikingly religious'. According to
Tom Beaudoin in his book Virtual Faith:
An examination of their culture points to four themes: suspicion
of organized religion, the importance of personal experience,
identification with suffering, and ambiguity as a central feature of
faith (quoted in Bibby 2001)
Canadian researcher, Reginald Bibby has conducted national youth
surveys since 1975. The latest survey project: Project Teen Canada
2000, involved 3,500 young people aged 15-19 in high schools and
post- secondary institutions. Comparable data for Australia as a
whole is not currently available (although some surveys have been
undertaken in Catholic schools, for example). To provide some very
rough comparisons, data from the 1998 Australian Community Survey has
been used here. That survey had a total sample size of 8,500. The
cohort examined in the Australian Community Survey was aged 18 to 29
and included 1,695 respondents.
Values
Between one quarter and one third of Canadian teenagers considered
spirituality very important. Notably, gender differences were marked
- 35 per cent of females compared with 23 per cent of males valuing
this. Actual involvement in religious groups on the other hand, was
'very important' for only one in ten. The four values
most strongly affirmed were:
- Friendship (85%);
- Freedom (85%);
- Being loved (77%) and;
- Having choices (76%) (2001, p.13).
For the Australian sample of young people, spirituality (defined
as an emphasis on spiritual not material matters), was very or most
important among values for guiding one's life for just under
one third (30%). However, a very large majority of them strongly
affirmed the values of friendship (89%) and freedom (81%) as very or
most important to them.
Beliefs and Interests
High proportions of Canadian teens said that they often or
sometimes engaged in asking ultimate questions such as 'What
happens after death?' (78%) or 'How can I experience
happiness?' (73%). Quite high proportions also held views
indicating some belief in something transcendent. Many affirmed
that 'life has meaning beyond what we ourselves give to it'
(86%) and that 'some things seem more than just coincidence'
(80%) (2001, p.120).
Many affirmed both 'conventional' religious beliefs,
for example, in God, heaven, angels and Jesus as Son of God. They
also affirmed 'less conventional' beliefs such as in
miraculous healing, ESP, psychic powers and astrology (see graphs).
The spirituality of Canadian youth appears to be an ad hoc
selection of personal beliefs from a range of sources and without any
pretension of being part of a coherent system.
A much smaller proportion of the Australian sample of young adults
affirmed conventional Christian beliefs. For instance, less than one
third affirmed belief in the divinity of Jesus. On the other hand,
half agreed that there was life after death, and slightly more agreed
that there was much in the universe that could not be explained by
science which was more in the realm of the spiritual.
Many agreed that different religions and philosophies had
different versions of the truth which might be equally right in their
own way. Stressing the importance of open-mindedness and respecting
different paths to the spiritual were recurring themes. While the
range of 'less conventional' beliefs as explored in Bibby
were not included in the Australian Community Survey, it found that
reincarnation was affirmed by 28 per cent.
Morality
The young people's less 'black and white'
approach to the world was reflected in their moral views. Around half
of the Australian sample of young adults affirmed that right and
wrong depended on the circumstances (see beliefs graph). Likewise,
among Canadian teens, 65% agreed 'What's right or
wrong is a matter of personal opinion'.
Bibby suggests that five in every ten teenagers had what he
terms an 'internal focus' on which they based their views
of what was right or wrong. They referred to personal judgement and
morality, how they felt at the time, beliefs, values and conscience
as sources of their moral decisions. A further four out of ten had an
'external focus' referring to family, how they were
raised, religion including spirituality and God (which accounted for
11%), impact on others and laws. The remaining one in ten did not
know the source of their values. Thus, the significance of
religious institutions as sources of moral values is outranked by the
'internal' for half of Canadian teenagers (2001, p.125).
Identification and Practice
Private Practices & Experience
In Canada, the likelihood of a teenager praying in private was
equal to the likelihood that they read their horoscope. One third
said they prayed and one third read their horoscope. Thirteen percent
said they read the Bible or other Scriptures.
Among young Australian adults 27 per cent said they prayed or
meditated at least weekly, and another 22 per cent said they did so
occasionally. 27 per cent also said that they occasionally or often
read their horoscope (9.4%). Smaller proportions practised Eastern
meditation (11%) or used crystals (9%).
More than one quarter of the Australian sample (27%) reported
having had a mystical or supernatural experience. An additional large
group (48%) said they either knew someone who had or believed it
could happen. Twelve per cent were unsure and a further 13 per cent
did not think such experiences occur.
These results suggest that most young Australians are quite open
to possibility of spiritual experiences and only a minority group
does not believe such experiences happen.
Participation in Religious Institutions
Three-quarters of Canadian young people identified with a
religious group (76%) but only one in five (22%) were involved on a
weekly basis. In Australia, a similar proportion identified with a
religious group (72%) but only a few (8%) said they attended
religious services weekly or more often.
While attendance rates are higher in Canada, in both countries
sizeable proportions identify with religious institutions but do not
participate. However, Bibby maintains that Canada's teens
don't warrant the label 'uninterested in religion';
45% say they would be involved if it were worthwhile (2001, p.117).
The Australian study looked more specifically at the issue of
increasing church involvement with the question: Here are some ideas
meant to improve churches. Would you be prepared to go to a church
which has these things? The results showed many of the suggestions,
including more modern formats, made comparatively little difference
to preparedness to attend. For example only 14 per cent said they
would be prepared to go if the church had contemporary styles of
worship. However, three options did receive quite strong support:
- More openness to different viewpoints on religion (49% affirmed they would
be prepared to go)
- A broader emphasis on spirituality, not just religion (47%
affirming)
- More coverage of day-to-day life issues in teaching programs (46%
affirming)
People were also asked what put them off personally from going to
church. Young Australians were put off by various things:
- The beliefs and morals of the church. These people said
they were discouraged by the beliefs and morals held by the churches.
Many of the same people also said they did not like the ways churches
were organised and found worship services boring. Around 45 per cent
of young Australians indicated they felt that way.
- Time Priorities. Around 20 per cent of young
Australians said they did not have enough time because of work, or
had too many other commitments, and around 45 per cent said there
were other things they preferred doing.
- Not my thingvAround 44 per cent said they saw no
need to go to church and 30 per cent said they did not have any
strong beliefs.
- Bad experiences of church. 11 per cent of young
Australians said they had had bad experiences of church. (For much
more detail on these results see the NCLS book, Why People Don't
Go to Church, Openbook, Adelaide, 2002 and the article on p.8 of
this Pointers.)
Some Final Thoughts
These results suggest that there are similarities between young
adults in Australia and Canada. Youth spirituality is about being
open to all sorts of ideas and experiences, rather than being bound
by particular doctrines or religious organisations. Spirituality is
lived and expressed in the everyday and constructed through personal
experience.
Wuthnow has identified similar attitudes among Americans, despite
the much higher proportions attending church. He notes the widespread
acceptance of supernatural ideas and experiences. However, he notes
that the supernatural and miraculous are not part of every-day life
for most people. 'The present interest in angels, near-death
experiences and the like is an affirmation in its own way that life
is sacred and that it should be experienced with reverence'
Wuthnow says (1998, p.141).
He argues that such interests reflect Christian and other
religious traditions. Those people who reported such experiences
often had a background in which there was some connection with
religion at home or school. But the ways such experiences are
interpreted reflect the fact that religious organisations no longer
hold a monopoly over such interpretations (1998, p.128). Indeed, the
very weakness of religious socialisation into a particular religious
community contributes to the widespread dabbling with a range of
religious and spiritual ideas. Young people are growing up without a
coherent system of beliefs provided by a religious organisation,
consequently, all sorts of possibilities may be contemplated. People
believe that life cannot be reduced to the secular and the mundane.
But there is no single, coherent system which fills the void.
One dimension of this trend is that there is no particular place
or particular aspects of life that may be considered sacred. Wuthnow
comments 'When the whole universe is perceived as God's home,
there is enormous freedom to roam; but no particular place can
ultimately be more sacred than any other' (1998, p.81).
Bibby illustrates that variety of attitudes to the spiritual in
the responses to the invitation to complete the sentence ... "In
my mind a spiritual person is someone who..."
...believes that when the person dies the spirit lives...has a
close relationship with God...respects whatever put us here...puts
all their faith in a higher being...loves you...believes in God...is
in touch with themselves and cares about others...has inner peace
with oneself and others...cares deeply about others...wastes their
life but at least doesn't harm anyone... believes in things
they can't see...is in touch with themselves on more than one
level...loves God with all their heart and obeys Him... questions
life and their place in it...believes in something rather than
nothing...( Bibby 2001, pp121)
Sharon Bond & Philip Hughes
References
Bibby, R (2001) Canada's Teens: Today, Yesterday and
Tomorrow, Stoddart, Toronto.
Hughes, P (1997) Religion in Australia: Facts and Figures,
Christian Research Association, Kew.
Wuthnow, R. (1998) After Heaven: Spirituality in America since the 1950s,
University of California Press, Berkeley.
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