What god? Young people reveal their secular side

Sarah Price and Susanna Kass
August 6, 2006

FEWER than half of Australia's young people believe in a god and many believe there is little truth in religion, a new study has found.

The three-year national study, a joint project between Monash University, the Australian Catholic University and the Christian Research Association, found many young people followed a secular, rather than a religious path.

The study, The Spirit of Generation Y, found just 48 per cent of Generation Y, defined as those being born between 1976 and 1990, believed in a god.

Andrew Singleton, from Monash University, a co-author of the study, said they were surprised by the findings.

"It's well known that there has been a turn away from church attendance and participation in young people," he said. "But we thought there was going to be a move towards alternative spiritualities.


The survey, of 1619 people, found 20 per cent did not believe in a god and 32 per cent were unsure.

Meanwhile, 31 per cent of Generation Y were classified as humanists, rejecting the idea of a god, although some believed in a higher being.

Dr Singleton said that by comparison, baby boomers now had higher levels of regular churchgoers and believers in a god. Instead, those in Generation Y had more in common with their Generation X counterparts - those born between 1961 and 1975.

He said the trend away from organised religion was likely to continue. "We live in a very individualistic society and I don't see a lot of things challenging that," he said.

"One of the many predictors of whether we become religious is our parents and unless there is a massive cultural shift, the trajectory will continue," Dr Singleton said.

The researchers said many young Australians were humanists, rejecting belief in a god for a belief in experience and reason.

Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, said the results were expected.

"This is the first generation who probably know nothing about Christ, except those who go to Christian schools," he said. "It is sad, but in my view, it is entirely what we expected to happen."

Pastor Andrew Patch, from St James Anglican Church, Croydon, falls into Generation X and said among his generation, everyone went to church.

"But not everyone went for the right reasons," he said. "Now it seems a cultural shift has happened where there might be lower attendance but this generation are more considered about what they're doing.

"This generation was taught to question their belief and come to their own conclusion about it so when they choose faith, I think they're pretty full-on about it."

Keysar Trad, from the Islamic Friendship Foundation, said surveys about spirituality and faith were influenced by current events.

"When there is a natural disaster, a lot of people question the role of God in human life," Mr Trad said.

"Where there is a war, like [in] the Middle East, and the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and acts of terror have taken place, a lot of ordinary people would question the value and importance of religion.

"Increasing numbers of people are looking for the intellectual content in religion.

"If they find intellectual flaws in it, obviously they start to look at it as superstitious and ancient stories rather than being something of divine origin."

Source: The Sun-Herald
