Reaching Young People

In his latest book, Why Religion Went Obsolete (Oxford Press, 2025), sociologist and researcher Christian Smith argues that traditional American religion is increasingly becoming obsolete among younger generations. He says that younger generations no longer view traditional religion as “relevant, valuable, or attractive.”

Comparing statistical data from 1972 and 2021, Smith details some alarming trends for the Church. He reports that, among Millennials, there has been a 35% drop in church attendance and a decline in “great confidence” in religion by 29% (Smith, p. 26).

Smith states that,

“In sum, traditional religion has been losing ground among Americans, especially younger ones, no matter how you measure it: affiliation, practices, beliefs, identities, number of congregations, and confidence in religious organizations have all been declining.” (Smith, p. 34-35)

But this doesn’t mean this population is unreachable. Even though Millennials increasingly view traditional religion as obsolete, many of them are still deeply spiritual and hungry for the sacred.

Data shows that 34.2% of Millennials describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” (Smith, p. 31)

We believe that in order to reach young people, we need to meet them where they are. Even though they are avoiding the church, they are still deeply spiritual. Therefore, we need to leverage their continued openness to spiritual things to draw them to God.

This is why ministries such as Mount Hermon and AACF are so important. Reaching young people may be difficult work, but we cannot give up. We need to remember the words of the Apostle Paul who urged us by saying, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).