Millions of young adults are watching Friends reruns. Why?
young adults
Their voices were passionate and sometimes poignant: we want a safe space where we can speak openly, listen as non-judgmentally as possible, and hold each other accountable. We want to make room for questions without feeling the need to give answers. We want to share our gifts—from baking to yoga. And we don’t want what we’re doing to be called a meeting! Such were the comments of several young women professionals who gathered for a group I hosted and facilitated.
The Deconstructed Church, by Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel
In The Deconstructed Church, Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel give us a comprehensive and revealing ethnographic study of the worldwide phenomenon known as the emerging Christian movement.
Way Below the Angels, by Craig Harline
One cold afternoon in 1975 in a small rented bedroom in Antwerp, the young Mormon missionary Craig Harline (Elder Harline in Mormon parlance) had a faith crisis—though it is not quite right to call it that.
As I prepared to be ordained recently, my mind kept returning to the people in my life who might be perplexed by this decision. I have friends and colleagues who wonder, quite justly, what the church has to offer that one cannot find elsewhere. I thought about how I might describe what pulls me toward ministry and the church in particular.
Belief without Borders, by Linda A. Mercadante
Linda A. Mercadante’s study counters those who suggest that the rise of the religiously unaffiliated is tantamount to secularization.
Girls gets attention as a boundary-breaking comedy focused explicitly on gender. But Hannah and friends are not navigating adult life well.
Who do you consider to be part of the "new generation"? What do you think draws you to advocate for this new generation? What do you think are some of the greatest challenges this generation faces?
Recently I wrote about the tar sands pipeline blockaders who have been coming to our church in Nacogdoches, Texas. Life with these young people is never dull. We’re learning to improvise and be light on our feet with them around.
Emerging as adults
Our culture tells young adults to resist adulthood with all their might. New Girl portrays characters who want something more.
The possibly-spiritual-but-definitely-not-religious are growing in ranks, says the Pew Forum, and the resulting Nones On the Bus blogo-tour is as usual drawing good crowds. Paul Waldman highlights one interesting subpoint: the Nones are growing not just more plentiful but also more Democratic. He credits Republican hostility to nonbelievers.
Terry Castle is concerned about students' constant contact with parents. I’m more interested in how they relate face to face.
In January, the Century published my interview with Kerry Cronin, who teaches at Boston College and gives students an unusual assignment: go out on a date. Since then we've asked some college students to respond to Cronin. Do they find her dating advice off-putting? Valuable? Impractical? Strange?