Religion – pockets of optimism?

PR from the Catholic League. This is true in our parish. We have two young woman in their early 20’s who are joining our parish and receiving instructions through our OCIA (formerly RCIA) program and about eight young people who are completing their sacraments through the program.

Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein had this to say about the Pew survey. “Even as fewer and fewer young people consider themselves religious, a small percentage of young adults are practicing their faiths with unusual avidity.” Those in their early 20s who are drawn to the faith have been noticed by other pollsters, as well as religious observers.

The Barna Group, a Christian research organization, recently found that “Gen Z-ers [those born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s] who go to church are more frequent attendees than churchgoers from older generations. Twenty-four percent of Gen Z-ers go to church every week (a slightly higher rate than for millennials and Gen X-ers).”

Over the summer, hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world attended the Jubilee of Youth event in Rome. According to Colm Flynn, an Irish radio and TV host, “When someone told me it was going to be like the Catholic version of Woodstock, I laughed. But as soon as I got there, I thought: OK, now I get it!”

New York City priest, Father Joseph Teller, celebrates Mass on Sunday nights to a crowded audience of young people in Greenwich Village. He  notes that the number of converts has tripled in the past year. The same thing is happening at St. Vincent Ferrer on the upper east side. The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is also witnessing a surge. “We’re out of space and exploring adding more masses,” says Father Daniel Ray.

What’s going on? The spiritual emptiness of the dominant culture is clearly a factor, and it’s widespread. Silicon Valley is bursting with young people looking for meaning in a world enveloped by “God-like” artificial intelligence. They are looking for answers that AI cannot provide.

Catholic commentator Michael Knowles is so encouraged by these new developments that he jokes, “everyone is becoming Catholic.” Father Mike Schmitz, a prominent priest who works with young people, says there has been “a resurgence in people asking the question, ‘How do we become Catholic?’”

Religion ebbs and flows, just like most elements in the culture, which is why sounding the death bells is always premature. Thank God for that.