"... nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God."

[paulonei]

I read in Zenit.org the article “Living in a De-Christianized Society”:
zenit.org/article-26368?l=english

The statistics seem to be unbelievable:

“Only around 1% of Anglicans attend Sunday services on average…”

“… nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God.”

“… study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world.”

“… half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.”

As I live in the greatest Catholic country in the World, it is very “strange” to me. To read it here is “other” reality.

Because it is an English forum, I would like to ask you that are most near the “English” or “British” land about these statistics in your real life.

 

[lilies]

goodmorning! i can only speak of my own expierenc i do believe parents and all adults need to set a most good example to begin the faith in young people. not to get so caught up in making more more more money to buy new gadgets but find time every day to let your children see you are a prayerful person. since before my children { 3 boys 1 girl} were born i was getting up by 4 in earlt a.m. to pray. that was a treasure ! i also worked very hard full time as my husband came back from nam mentally ill and we kept him with us 27 years. it is gods kind gaces and good example i think youth need especially in my usa. less time in casinos more quiet time in private prayer. lilies

 

[DrumminFool91]

You know, I kinda think that two of the major influencing (sp?) factors to this problem is the general rise of affluence which tends to lead us to complacency (life is good, so we don’t think about needing God) and the fact that there are so many distractions in our society. Just think, most homes have multiple TVs, computers, radios, MP3 players, etc… we’re constantly being stimulated. It’s hard to focus on proper things like God and family when you’re constantly being distracted with noise and toys. After continuous distraction, I think we can become sort of “A.D.D.”. Even when I pray with my family at night as we put our kids to bed, I find my mind wandering CONSTANTLY, even without any of the constant noise. I certainly am distracted by all that surrounds me and lack mental discipline, and as a consequence lack spiritual discipline. I suspect that this is a prevalent condition throughout society, though maybe not… maybe its just me. I understand why the religious live in austere and plain conditions: there are fewer places to hide from God and yourself.

 

[matthewadam]

I read in Zenit.org the article “Living in a De-Christianized Society”:
zenit.org/article-26368?l=english

The statistics seem to be unbelievable:

“Only around 1% of Anglicans attend Sunday services on average…”

“… nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God.”

“… study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world.”

“… half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.”

As I live in the greatest Catholic country in the World, it is very “strange” to me. To read it here is “other” reality.

Because it is an English forum, I would like to ask you that are most near the “English” or “British” land about these statistics in your real life.

As someone who deals with analysing survey data on a regular basis, let me say that statistics really can be made to say near anything; the cliche about lies and statistics is indeed true. How much weight one can lend to these results would depend greatly on how and indeed why the surveyors selected the 1000 youths they did etc.

In any case, whatever the accuracy of the figures, they are a reminder that we need to do more by way of evangelisation–particularly in the way of being good examples.

 

[paulonei]

Even when I pray with my family at night as we put our kids to bed, I find my mind wandering CONSTANTLY, even without any of the constant noise.

I think the remedy to your constant lack of attention could be the CONSTANTLY prayer:

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5)

I suggest you to read the little book “The way of a pilgrin”

“The Way of a Pilgrim is the English title of a 19th century anonymous Russian work, detailing the narrator’s journey across the country while discovering practicing the Jesus Prayer devoutly, with the help of a prayer rope, and studying the Philokalia.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_a_Pilgrim)

About Jesus Prayer:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer

About Philokalia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philokalia

 

[jdwood983]

I would not worry about the article & poll. I can ask 1000 people if there is such a thing as a jackalope, and I bet most would agree there is one, when in fact it is a completely made up animal!

The best thing to do is raise your kids in the Faith by encouraging discussion and offering good books to read (lives of Saints, facts about the Faith & Church, etc). Also, volunteering for both Youth Groups and as a CCD instructor, with the same intent as with raising your kids, is a good way to help out!

~josh

 

[faithfulrock3r]

I read in Zenit.org the article “Living in a De-Christianized Society”:
zenit.org/article-26368?l=english

The statistics seem to be unbelievable:

“Only around 1% of Anglicans attend Sunday services on average…”

“… nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God.”

“… study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world.”

“… half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.”

As I live in the greatest Catholic country in the World, it is very “strange” to me. To read it here is “other” reality.

Because it is an English forum, I would like to ask you that are most near the “English” or “British” land about these statistics in your real life.

well as matthewadam pointed out, statistics can be extremely misleading. it all depends on selection, randomness, etc., and apparently this survey was, as the article noted, conducted for the promotion of a book on this subject, which may or may not detract from its validity. and btw, i was just curious, which country are you from? lol j/w which country is the most catholic

 

[hxcCatholic413]

Isn’t the Philippines the most Catholic country? I wouldn’t necessary say that teens don’t believe in God I would think that most don’t really care about attending Church or religion in general. I am 18 and the majority of the teens I see and know only care about pleasure before anything else. St. Augustine said: “Our hearts are restless, O Lord until they rest in thee” think of your heart as a puzzle piece, teens are putting earthly pleasures into a space that only God can fill its like trying to fit a circle into a square…it doesn’t work.

Eventually (Hopefully) teens will realize this at some point in their lives…I know I did. Yes its true that most surveys aren’t accurate, but something tells me that the survey wasn’t too far off. Parents need to inform their children about moral issues at a younger age, tell their children about the Church and the truth (Jesus Christ) and most importantly be good Christian role models in their children’s lives. My parent’s didn’t tell me much about the Church and I believe that was one of the main reasons why I didn’t believe.

God Bless

 

[paulonei]

btw, i was just curious, which country are you from? lol j/w which country is the most catholic

I am from Brazil. I thought this thread as an interesting question at “English” forum, but I see there are few people form United Kingdom here… I was curious about how is to Catholics to live in the British land. I read the statistics in the Portuguese version of Zenit.

About the “most Catholic”:

Nation          Percent%         # Catholic
Brazil            86.50%           134,818,000
Mexico          95.30               86,305,000
USA              26.00             ~61,000,000
Philippines     83.60               58,735,000

If you consider only the “percentage”, not the number of Catholics (this is ambiguous), the most Catholic is:

Vatican City     850              100.00%

See a lot of statistics here:
adherents.com/largecom/com_romcath.html

Talking about “statistics”, they are very contradictory, as this article states:

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom

“The disparity between the 2001 census data and the above polls has been put down to both the decline in religious adherence in the UK since 2001 and a phenomenon of cultural religiosity, whereby many who do not believe in gods still identify with a religion because of its role in their upbringing or its importance to their family.”

I think we must be interested in this topic, because our countries can “follow” the European countries; for example: the abortion laws were like a virus in Europe and the World, killing in all countries that “copied” one’s others laws. The most recent examples of this are Portugal and Mexico. So I am worried about Brazil too.

Thanks for all your comments!

 

[mangy_dog]

I read in Zenit.org the article “Living in a De-Christianized Society”:
zenit.org/article-26368?l=english

The statistics seem to be unbelievable:

“Only around 1% of Anglicans attend Sunday services on average…”

“… nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God.”

“… study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world.”

“… half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.”

As I live in the greatest Catholic country in the World, it is very “strange” to me. To read it here is “other” reality.

Because it is an English forum, I would like to ask you that are most near the “English” or “British” land about these statistics in your real life.

This survey and these numbers may reflect a young European population but, from what I’ve seen in the USA, it is a very disturbing and common trend among young people everywhere. Especially countries with the western influence.

There was a time in which parents were of the philosophy, "I want my children to have and enjoy all the things *. And so, the age of toys, gadgets, computers, MP3, MTV, VH1, cell phones, texting, access and excess - became the way of society and the litmus test of knowing that our children were receiving everything we didn’t have.

That was some 20 + years ago.

Today parents want to give their children everything they had and more. All the rights, priviledges and entitlements they had and more. A flat TV in every room, a car for every family member, a cell phone for each person (with unlimited texting), permissiveness disguised as tolerance and an excess of access to anything and everything society has to offer and infect.

It doesn’t matter that survey numbers “can be made to reflect” this, that or the other thing.

What matters is that the numbers are not only right but the trend is growing exponentially!

We, as parents and guardians, are providing, allowing the means to distract our children and the next generation of children from the Sound Doctrine of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We feel like bad parents or unjust parents if we say no to the cell phone for every family member’; if we say no to having your own TV in the room; no to the high-tech gadget; no to the this thing and that thing.

We as parents need to remove the things that impede family unity, faith, prayer etc. The things that occupy my life and my focus away from what ails my family.

I don’t want to rant and rave to long 'cause you guys tend to speed read the first lines and forget about the rest. *

 

[antunesaa]

This survey and these numbers may reflect a young European population but, from what I’ve seen in the USA, it is a very disturbing and common trend among young people everywhere. Especially countries with the western influence.

There was a time in which parents were of the philosophy, "I want my children to have and enjoy all the things *. And so, the age of toys, gadgets, computers, MP3, MTV, VH1, cell phones, texting, access and excess - became the way of society and the litmus test of knowing that our children were receiving everything we didn’t have.

That was some 20 + years ago.

Today parents want to give their children everything they had and more. All the rights, priviledges and entitlements they had and more. A flat TV in every room, a car for every family member, a cell phone for each person (with unlimited texting), permissiveness disguised as tolerance and an excess of access to anything and everything society has to offer and infect.

It doesn’t matter that survey numbers “can be made to reflect” this, that or the other thing.

What matters is that the numbers are not only right but the trend is growing exponentially!

We, as parents and guardians, are providing, allowing the means to distract our children and the next generation of children from the Sound Doctrine of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We feel like bad parents or unjust parents if we say no to the cell phone for every family member’; if we say no to having your own TV in the room; no to the high-tech gadget; no to the this thing and that thing.

We as parents need to remove the things that impede family unity, faith, prayer etc. The things that occupy my life and my focus away from what ails my family.

I don’t want to rant and rave to long 'cause you guys tend to speed read the first lines and forget about the rest. *

Teens don’t believe in God just as they don’t believe in anything else. It’s just crazy how empty and shallow teens are today. But at some point in their lives reality will strike them and they will be forced to think about God. For some it’ll be too late, but others can turn to God if we at least now tell them there is a Christian God, full of compassion. But it’s always been like that and the literature is full of episodes of worried fathers saying what we’re saying right now about their children. The other day I read a quote from a Roman father saying his son won’t listen to him, despizes even religion, is full of self-sufficiency, etc. Two thousand years ago…

 

[HickmanJosh]

Hi any room for a 15 year old revert?

 

[paulonei]

Teens don’t believe in God just as they don’t believe in anything else.

As I said, to me it is very strange, because here the “majority” of teens believe in God and have respect to all religions.

 

[PJM]

---

I read in Zenit.org the article “Living in a De-Christianized Society”:
zenit.org/article-26368?l=english

The statistics seem to be unbelievable:

“Only around 1% of Anglicans attend Sunday services on average…”

“… nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God.”

“… study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world.”

“… half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.”

As I live in the greatest Catholic country in the World, it is very “strange” to me. To read it here is “other” reality.

Because it is an English forum, I would like to ask you that are most near the “English” or “British” land about these statistics in your real life.

***Here in America

Only about 23% regularly attend Mass

Less than 10% take advantage of the Sacrament of know Forgiveness “Confession”

About 90% use contraception

52% believe abortion is a personal option and choice

And the 2nd. largest group of chrsitians is “Fallen Away Catholics.”

Your stats and ours are no mere accident. Public education for the past forty -fifty years has not only taken God out of the classrooms, but has proven that “out of sight IS out of mind!”

There are today in America far more “catholic churches” that no-longer have a Tabernacle visible to all, all of the time, than do keep Christ Himself Present.

The emphasis of our Mass in more often centered on the laity, than on the Sacrifice of Christ.

We live in an age of Educated Relative values and morality, where it is taught that "something is wrong ONLY if you think that it is wrong. There are no longer ANY moral absolutes.

“If we are not part of the solution, then indeed we are The Problem!” We must know, live, share our faith, and not lose hope. Christ does prevail in the end. They will know us by WHAT we are, What we do, and What we profess to believe.

Do our homes, our cars, our life’s example preach Christ?

Love and prayers, ***