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[quote=Anonymous]There are a lot of really interesting surveys that study this exact question, which I'll link below for those who want to do a deep dive on the issue. Some of the major findings are a lot of what has already been said:

Millennial and Gen Z were raised by parents who didn't instill theology in us. Most religious celebrations are about cultural or familial gathering, not the religious significance. I'm not sure that's the fault of our parents, who were often told in their own religious upbringing not to question things, or who had their questions dismissed. [i]Their[/i] parents (our grandparents) had a different model of parenting that was much more top-down or do-as-I-say (this is a generalization, obviously, but so is this question overall). It's hard to be excited about passing on a theology to your children that you weren't well-educated in or engaged with yourself. Deep religious connection rarely happens by osmosis; you can't just take your kids to services and expect us to [i]be[/i] religious in the long run. Sure, we might continue to do the cultural things (celebrate holidays with family, etc), but the deep meaning requires more engagement and understanding than passively sitting through services sometimes.

The politicization of "religion" (particularly Evangelical Christianity), which tries to pass off right wing political ideologies as theology. Theoretically, if millennials become more conservative as we age (debatable), then we might find ourselves in gradual agreement with these political religions, but I doubt it, unless these "religions" change their tune on some hot button issues like gay rights and women's rights. I don't think intolerance toward the LGBTQ community or women is going to be something that our generation or future generations become more conservative about, even if we age into more conservative political positions in other ways.

The Catholic Church protecting/hiding rapists and predators for decades, which, even for non-Catholics, colors the view of all organized religion as secretive and hypocritical and not looking out for the best interests of the community.

The availability of other types of community that replaces the need for religion-based support systems. Part of the lack of young people in religion is, itself, self-perpetuating. A religious community used to be a place to make friends, but if I'm the youngest person there by 20 years, then the social aspect of showing up is just not there and that can be a big motivator in whether or not I roll out of bed on the weekend and want to go to services to see my friends, even if I'm not feeling particularly spiritual that day. If I do show up and it's difficult to connect with people socially who are a generation or more older than me, I'm likely to feel awkward and opt not to go, even if the spiritual part is of interest to me.

The rise in spirituality as an option outside of organized religion. People can be "spiritual" in whatever personal way suits them, and have the relationship with God or "the universe" that is meaningful to them without the need for a clergy intermediary.

Some religions feel very negative with a focus on avoiding sin, instead of doing good.

[url]https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/millennials-are-leaving-religion-and-not-coming-back/[/url]
[url]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/08/qa-why-millennials-are-less-religious-than-older-americans/[/url]
[url]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/10/10-key-findings-about-the-religious-lives-of-u-s-teens-and-their-parents/[/url]
[url]https://psmag.com/ideas/gen-z-is-the-least-religious-generation-heres-why-that-could-be-a-good-thing[/url]
[url]https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/millennials-are-leaving-organized-religion-heres-where-some-are-finding-community[/url][/quote]

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