The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, September 27, 2011

THE POSTMODERN CHRISTIAN AMERICAN: “Why Young Adults Are Walking Away from Church.”

Two quotes from Harris’ book stood out to me as definitive of the postmodern Christian American. Both suggest a custom-tailored identity that older generations label as opportunistic, but which younger ones understand as our only option for survival. She describes her college friend as “cool in the ‘Evangelical ex-homeschooler who quotes the Aneid in Latin while drinking whiskey and smoking a pipe’ type of way.” Such a combination of attributes betrays both a longing for grounding, while also seeking liberation from old expectations.

A second description of a friend from New York City points at why so many today struggle to find any group or label they consider palatable. Harris calls her friend “a fiscal Republican, a social Democrat, a pro-lifer who didn’t believe in banning abortion, and a Christian who didn’t think Jesus cared so much whether people were gay.”

It’s reasonable to see why those within the established systems claim we stand for nothing. On the contrary, the friction lies in the disconnect between what we do stand for and what the systems that have so long taken power for granted say we should believe.

It’s no surprise we’ve walked away from traditional institutions in droves; we feel we owe them precisely what they’ve given us.

The redemption of such cultural ambiguity is that assumptions and stereotypes fall short more often than they apply, causing us to have to take people more at face value, discerning what they believe through face-to-face discourse. We crave more intimate, direct connection with one another because, in doing so, we hope to find out more about who we are as well.

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SEX AND THE SINGLE CHRISTIAN: “Why young Christians aren’t waiting anymore.”

The article in Relevant magazine, entitled “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It,” cited several studies examining the sexual activity of single Christians. One of the biggest surprises was a December 2009 study, conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which included information on sexual activity.

While the study’s primary report did not explore religion, some additional analysis focusing on sexual activity and religious identification yielded this result: 80 percent of unmarried evangelical young adults (18 to 29) said that they have had sex – slightly less than 88 percent of unmarried adults, according to the teen pregnancy prevention organization.

The article highlights what challenges abstinence movements face. Movements such as “True Love Waits,” encourage teens to wear purity rings, sign virginity pledges and pledge chastity during public ceremonies.

Yet many of these Christian youths eventually abandon their purity pledges, Relevant’s Tyler Charles concludes in the article.

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RELIGION MADE IN THE U.S. OF A.: “Normal Mormons.”

The story of what happens next in Mormonism’s careful negotiations with American culture is unwritten, but the past suggests that the church will bend for the sake of assimilation. With two Mormon candidates running for president and Romney among the front-runners, such negotiations have high political stakes.

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THE GAY BOYCOTT AGENDA: “Online Boycotts Separate Corporations from Christian Groups.”

The challenge for Christian organizations, said Stephen M. Rapier, a marketing expert at Pepperdine University, is to remain true to their core beliefs without regard to outside pressure. “This resoluteness,” he said, “will signal our genuine beliefs, strengthening the bond with our followers and seeding the field of authenticity for those who hope to harvest a partnership with us.”

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PRO-GAY THE ONLY WAY? “In England, Displaying Bible Verses May Be Against the Law.”

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LIES, D***ED LIES, AND STATISTICS: “Take a Closer Look at Religious Polling.”

The Baylor report falls short of Barna in two ways. It’s neither transparent enough nor unbiased enough in its language to be considered as pure research. And if it really wants to be using good data in the cause of a promoting a particular Baptist perspective, it’s not remotely straightforward about that, either.

Here’s the Baylor study the article critiques.

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DEMONIZING POLITICAL OPPONENTS: “Heckler Calls Obama ‘The Antichrist’ at LA Fundraiser.” In response, President Obama said, “First of all, I agree Jesus Christ is the Lord. I believe in that.” Good for the president!

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OBAMA’S UNHAPPY LEFT-WING BASE: “Obama’s Preaching Doesn’t Reach.”

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YES, MAYBE, NO: “Should Pastors Perform Marriages for Cohabiting Couples?”

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COOL: “Google makes 5 Dead Sea Scrolls searchable.”

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LEFT-WING DOMINIONIST WATCH: “Faith group to target Bachmann on jobs bill.”

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ANTI-DOMINIONISM WATCH: “What Are They Smoking at the Times?”

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RIDICULOUS LAWSUIT WATCH: “Paying for a Church You Don’t Believe In.”