Young People and the
Church.

Church congregations often looked as though they had the same average age as bowling clubs till youngsters discovered bowls. Why do the last couple of generations shy away from the church? We publish in this issue a story by Michaela Walsh, a very intelligent and socially committed Australian woman who gave the church away.

Why I Left

By Michaela Walsh

Michaela was born in Melbourne and has lived there all her life. She completed her B. App. Sci. (Hons) (Hort.) at Burnley College, The University of Melbourne, in 2003, and is currently undertaking a Ph. D. in plant biology and ecology there. She teaches at the university, which she adores, and voluntees any appropriate skills to helping Fr. Bob Maguire in his work for his charity; the Fr. Bob Maguire Foundation.

I am the youngest of six girls, was baptised as a baby, and raised in a fairly “normal” middle class Australian suburban family. I have heard all the cracks and astonished remarks about how my poor father had to put up with six daughters, and how amazing it is that I have no brothers. My parents were married in 1968, and still live in the same house they bought that year in Kew, Melbourne. We went to mass every week without fail, and received the usual warnings and taps on the leg for horsing around in church. As my sisters grew up, some of them stopped going to church, and some of them moved out.

When I was about 15 I also stopped going, and had the usual minor power struggle with my parents about that. However, through all of this, I never once believed in god. I went to private Catholic schools, five of them in fact. We had classes in religion, received all the sacraments, and had regular prayer groups. At home, I remember one Lent, the whole family saying the rosary in front of a statue of Mary every night after dinner. It was doing the rounds of the parish that year. I think there was supposed to be something particularly special about this statue. I felt uncomfortable, a fraud, pretending to fit in. As a small child, my mother would help me say my prayers at night, “I pray the lord my soul to keep”, which even then creeped me out. I thought that only old people and those with aneurisms died in their sleep. She would help me read the children’s bible, and I would skip quickly over the page with John the Baptist’s head on a platter. That scared me too. I can still see his eyes looking at me from the illustration. After a while, she assumed I could say my own evening prayers. Still, I never believed.

Most people raised Catholic in a large family seem to absorb belief, even if they don’t attend church regularly. They go at Christmas, sometimes Easter, baptise their children. For me, belief was never felt, and could not be forced.

Each Easter we would kneel and kiss the feet of a statue of a dying man nailed to a piece of faux wood. I felt stupid. I would look around the church during all these years; at these grown men and women believing in all these fairy tales, clinging to their sense of ceremony, and the magic trick that a wafer could mean they were masticating a piece of their lord. I not only felt silly, but angry when told at my confirmation that I would have to kneel and kiss the ring of the bishop. My justice alarm began to ring.

Each Easter we would kneel and kiss the feet of a statue of a dying man nailed to a piece of faux wood. I felt stupid.

Although I had never believed, when I first began to be interested in boys, I found myself with a conundrum. I knew that this was decision time. Do I live “chaste”, like the Catholic books said? Or do I go with my gut, express my feelings but be smart about it? I wasn’t expecting this internal struggle, but all those years of doctrine must have sunk in. I made my choice. I went with my heart and my head, and was finally free.

I live with my partner, who has been a rock at my side through many hard times. In illness, travel, study, anguish, pain, and happiness. We do not feel the need to be married, but are a family together. For many years, I have not only been an atheist but an anti-religionist. I was so angry, for all those years forced to pretend to believe. I looked back at all the suffering religion has cause the world. The crusades, the land wars, racism, sexism, the control of state and politics in so many countries for so many years.

I then looked at the present. The intrusion into the stem cell debate is completely inappropriate, access to safe abortion is under threat, and religious sex offenders are ruining lives. The churches’ interference with the rights of gays and lesbians to recognition of their civil unions having such impact on their ability to meld finances and family so unlike how my partner and me had enjoyed the right to. This still makes me saddest. People have been homosexual for all of history, and will continue to do so. It is the quality of their lives that we have control over, not their genes. In all the major issues, such as euthanasia, people of faith have the right to refuse treatment with or participation in things they do not agree with. The syhould not seek to control others.

I was angry for several years. Then, one evening my partner turned on SBS and said that a John Safran show was on. I saw Father Bob Maguire for the first time. I liked what he said. I listened to his JJJ radio show as co-host with Safran. I watched “Speaking in Tongues”, his religious TV show with Safran. And then I heard his podcast. It was a revelation – a religious with sense. I emailed him, and offered my help.

He invited me over and I told him my ideas for helping people, and for raising money for his charitable foundation. He liked them, and we clicked, talking for hours. The more I was involved with him, the less angry I became. The more conversations we have now, weekly on our podcast, the more at peace I am. I wanted to help people, but as a secular person, with a severe lack of money, and several illnesses, I didn’t know how. Just by being around him, he inspires one to know how, without giving orders. He is the prophet for my generation of Australians, and I am better for knowing him. He enables younger generations to hear his homilies by talking about things that matter to them. But I still can’t believe.

Why They Leave

Michael Mason of the Australian Catholic University, was the co-editor of a three year study, published in June 2006, of ‘The Spirit of Generation Y’.

As a commentary of Michaela’s story we republish some of the conclusions of this survey.

The editors say that the ‘study also underlines the importance of taking young people seriously, finding points of contact and engagement in each other’s spiritual journeys’.

In summary some of the results included:

Over half of Australian young people between the ages of 13 and 29 do not belong to or identify with any religion or denomination.

Yet almost half of half of this sol-called ‘No Religion ‘ group believe either in God or some higher power or life-force.

Gen Y Christians hardly differ on most measures of belief and practice from those who are still Christian in the ‘baby-Boom’ generation to which t heir parents belong.

But there are important differences between these two generations in other respects; one of the most important is that young women are now no more religious than young men on a wide range of measures. This change if likely to have momentous consequences for the spirituality of their children.

Gen Ys from conservative Protestant denominations score higher on measures of religious belief and practice than their parent’s generation, but also score higher than members of ‘liberal’ denominations on social concern.

What influences young people towards a more committed level of Christian spirituality? Overwhelmingly it is practising parents who are enthusiastic about their faith. No effect of attendance at church schools was detectable.

However, a majority of those who believe in God and attend church schools say that religious education at school is helpful/very helpful in strengthening their faith.

About a third of the more religious committed students reported sometimes being pressured or made fun of at school because of their religious beliefs and practices.

About 30% of Gen Y are moving away from their Christian origins – some previously attended more regularly but have stopped doing so; some previously identified with a religious denomination but no longer do; others once believed in God but now do not.

Before they reach the age of 29, about 25% of those who u sed to belong to a Christian church are already ex-members.

Australian young people are reluctant to declare that only one religion is true- only 11 % of Generation Y make such a claim.

For generation Y, alternative religious, esoteric and New Wage practices are simply not important.

29 % of Gen Y definitely believe in reincarnation, the ideas that people have lived previous lives.

Young people look first to friendships, music, their work, or study for finding peace and happiness. Few turn to religious or spiritual resources.

'Over half of Australian young people between the ages of 13 and 29 do not belong to or identify with any religion or denomination.