TruthBook Religious News Blog

Regardless of faith, today's young adults generally don't like attending traditional worship services, where their numbers are down. And they shy away from labels, increasingly identifying with no specific religion or, if they are Christian, calling themselves non-denominational.

Yet in conversations and in academic surveys, Generations X and Y still demonstrate an overwhelming belief in God and an interest in how all things spiritual relate to their lives and the world around them, particularly since Sept. 11, 2001.

Many reject dogma and large institutions; they are reaching out for personal and convenient ways to find answers. They send prayer e-mails, look for love on jdate.com, join smaller college ministry groups, and help fuel an industry of spiritually inspired books, movies and music.

About 80 percent of college students say they believe in God, according to a 2005 University of California study. But more than a third of adults 18 to 29 don't identify with one religion in particular, and another quarter classify themselves as nondenominational Christians, rather than identifying with a group like Baptist or Methodist, according to a 2001 American Religious Identification survey.

This worries some, like Tim Elmore, president and founder of Growing Leaders, a faith-based leadership group in Atlanta.

"There is a huge number that will say, `I want a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A little bit of Buddhism and a little bit of Jesus,'" Elmore said. "They have been preached tolerance with a capital T so much that there is no critical thinking going on. Having an unexamined OKness with everything can be very damaging."

Their aversion to labels is simple. Many do not see religion as a tradition to cut and paste from one generation to the next. They see it as a personal relationship they can tailor to their needs.

Growing up around increasing religious and ethnic diversity, few experience pressure to conform to a particular religion, as many of their parents did.

Some young adults turning toward religion also consider themselves backlash babies, rebelling against an American culture obsessed with sex and money, or against parents who never gave them direction.

Studies have long found that once young people marry and have kids, they are more likely to return to traditional religious institutions and practices, said Nancy Ammerman, professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University.

In the meantime, while they are discovering who they are, research shows religion is mostly likely to strike a chord with them if it does so on a more personal level, according to a survey by Reboot, a New York-based nonprofit organization. This includes college ministry clubs that are smaller and less formal and worship that is individualized and on demand, such as talking to friends about God, praying, or sending out an inspirational e-mail.