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Written by Sherri Gallant LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Thursday, April 09 2009, 9:43 PM |
Teenagers are becoming more conservative in their approach to sexuality, relationships and education, but less inclined to tie their traditional values to religion.
The data from University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby’s national survey of 5,000 teenagers (completed every eight years since 1984) is soon to be released in his new book, “The Emerging Millennials: How Canada's Newest Generation is Responding to Change & Choice.” On the front cover of this week’s issue of Maclean’s, it’s a well-timed response to Bibby’s adult survey - “The Boomer Factor: What Canada’s Most Famous Generation is Leaving Behind.”
“God’s starting to slip in the polls,” said Bibby. “That’s one of the newsy things on the religious side. It’s not that they’ve given up altogether, but about 35 per cent are now in the agnostic and aetheistic category. And that’s the first time we’ve seen that shift.”
Why? Probably because their parents have abandoned religion in growing numbers.
“The adults, in terms of aetheism, where people simply say, “I don’t believe in God,’ it’s been like six or seven per cent going back to 1975. But with the teens there is definitely a shift going on. Where now, an increasing number of them, coming out of a boomer background, you’re seeing the intergenerational thing going on. And it’s going to send a real message to religious groups.”
One in four to one in three people are still weekly attenders, but the middle — those who go to church sometimes — is dropping out. There’s a significant increase in the never-attenders.
“We really learn faith,” Bibby said. “We learn it through relationships. And so the domino effect is if you don’t have the parents plugged into beliefs, you’re not going to have the kids plugged in either. Unless there’s something that happens with respect to turning parents around, I think the biggest hope for religious groups in terms of wanting to be viable, and we get it through the youth survey, is people who say they’re open to greater involvement if they can find it’s worthwhile. The trick is for (religious) groups to think through what that would mean.”
Today’s teens, the survey revealed, are less likely to smoke, drink or do drugs. And more than half of them have never had sex (56 per cent, up from 51 per cent in 2000). They are less likely to follow current events or news (in any form) than teens were eight years ago, and while they have access to it via the Internet, they’re largely using the web for social networking and entertainment.
“There’s been a drop off in the percentage of kids who say they actually spend time sitting and thinking,” he said. “Think how hard it is now to have simple interactions with people because invariably they’re (electronically) hooked up to something, they’re texting or something like that. There seems to be such a lack of opportunity to reflect.”
Emerging Millennials examines the differences between country and city kids, and has a section devoted to aboriginal teens who, for the most part, are just like their non-aboriginal counterparts.
Who benefits most from Bibby’s data? Anyone interested in knowing the generation, educating them, reaching or entertaining them.
“They’re less likely to drink or do drugs because there are so many other things for them to do now,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition for their time.”
For more information on the book and Bibby’s research, visit www.reginaldbibby.com
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 10 2009, 2:29 PM )
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