This was the provocative sub-title to a recent cover story in Christian Century by Kenda Creasy Dean, Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. The article “Faith, Nice and Easy: the Almost Formation of Teens” is unavailable online to non-subscribers but summarizes the depressing findings of extensive research of the theological ideas and faith commitments of contemporary American youth. Dean’s brand new book is entitled Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church (Oxford University Press, 2010) and is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Christian-Teenagers-Telling-American/dp/0195314840.
Dean’s book summarizes her work with a recently completed research project called the National Study of Youth and Religion (
http://www.youthandreligion.org/). The earlier years of this project furnished the substantive findings in the important book of Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith,
Soul Searching: the Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. This work was published several years ago and previously has been referenced numerous times on this website. Dean assisted in the research for this earlier work that coined the now-familiar phrase, “Moral Therapeutic Deism” a term describing the lack depth and content of much youth spirituality.
In updating those earlier conclusions, Dean’s new book is based on many interviews with American teens who identified themselves as Christians but were unable to articulate their beliefs or express passion for them.
I pay attention to what the people in the congregation I serve are reading and care about. I was impressed that several members forwarded me the link to an article on Dean’s work last month at CNN.com. Here Dean shares that the essence of what most teens believe is this: “a watered-down faith that portrays God as a ‘divine therapist’ whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.” Dean lays the blame for this vague and shallow spirituality at the footsteps of the church. "If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation.” Ouch.
I encourage you to read this article, especially if you are a parent of children or teens: