Why Gen-Y Describes Itself As Spiritual and Not Religious
1) We aren’t against religion – we’re against division
Millennials are digital natives in our youth the advent of social media has played an enormous role in making us think globally. We’ve had a better opportunity to get real time global perspectives than past generations instead of information being filtered and twisted by traditional media into propaganda we have a multitude of ways through social media to get closer to the source. Millennials have to choose to be ignorant in this day in age with how much information we have available and the variety of ways we can receive it. In this regard, Millennials have to willfully choose to act without compassion.
How does this relate to religion? Religion itself is not the issue, but religion being used to justify homophobia and moral superiority is what turns millennials off.
2) We look at religion pragmatically
Call us naïve if you will, but we actually believe we can make this world a better place. If religion is used more often than not to promote hatred and ignorance we are okay with declining to participate in traditional religious institutions. If we sense it is being used as a weapon of division then my generation would rather be labeled insincere for calling ourselves spiritual rather than to promote anything other than unity. Yes, we do feel special – call us entitled. Millennials believe we can be the generation to utilize love and reverse the damages done to the world in the time before our own.
3) We are afraid to commit – and that’s okay
We’ve witnessed bad presidents, bad marriages, parents that are committed to companies that aren’t committed to them. We understand the pleasures that come with commitment; the strength and determination any human admires in another, but we’ve also seen the dark side of commitment; the brokenness it results in when one is devoted to the wrong person, the wrong ideology, the wrong cause, or the wrong war. If we seem “afraid to commit” it’s because we don’t believe the current model is sustainable. Theoretically, religion is one of the most serious commitments of all, but faith requires belief, so when millennials call ourselves spiritual it’s because we believe we owe it to ourselves to love others and live our lives with respect to traditions, but unhindered by those same traditions that have a history of being used to justify violence. We are skeptical of anyone or anything that advocates itself as the “right way” because we have had the privilege through the digital age to become global citizens.
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