New research shows why young Canadians leave the Church
CALGARY, AB - New research showing why young Canadian adults leave the Church will be unveiled at this year's Canadian Youth Workers Convention (CYWC).
"At an Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Youth and Young Adult Ministry Roundtable a number of people realized that we have been relying on Americans and Brits for youth research," recalls James Penner, an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge. "It was a faulty way to go, hearing rumours of young adults dropping out of faith.
"We thought, let's do a Canadian project."
The issue was whether or not young adults were dropping out of churches as reported in books like unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity by David Kinnaman (president of the Barna Group) or Generation Ex-Christian by transplanted Canadian Drew Dyck (managing editor of Leadership Journal).
Lead researcher Penner started with a 250-hour review of the literature, followed by 70 interviews across the country. From that research Penner came up with "barriers to and drivers of church and faith.
"We then turned the barriers and drivers into attitudinal statements that formed the basis of a survey," he says. Vision Critical (formerly Angus Reid) finished the research with a July survey of 2,000-plus people who as young adults, children or teens who had been connected with a Trinitarian faith community (mainline or conservative Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox).
The research will reveal why "people who grew up a Christian abandoned the church, but not abandoned their faith," says Stewart Rempel, president of the Great Commission Foundation (GCF). Started in 2002, GCF partners with individuals and organizations which will help fulfill its mandate of advancing the Christian faith. To fund this project GCF partnered with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Youth for Christ Canada and the Muskoka Woods Youth Foundation to get a $21,500 Stronger Together 2011 grant.
"We saw the far-reaching impact of a project like this, the granting partners attracted to that and wanted to support that," says Brent Fearon, program director of Stronger Together 2011 - a group of nine foundations or charities who banded together to fund worthy projects. It gives a one-time, one-year grants.
"This information will be scrutinized, evaluated and reviewed for many years to come," says Rempel, noting churches, ministries, Christian schools, Bible colleges and universities will be able to use the research when planning for the future.
The survey results will be the basis of one of the CYW convention's Burning Issues focus groups on November 12. According to the convention web site, the "100-minute focus groups will require everyone who walks in the door to roll up their sleeves and work together to face the challenges or solve the problems that are represented by each of the topics. It's a 'workgroup' not a workshop."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
