Shown in recent statistics, is that younger people, who are over 15 (as children under this age are usually forced by parents), do not participate in religious activity as much as the older generation – excluding the over 65s group, this is usually because they cannot get to church easily due to ill-health and disabilities. Brierley supports the idea of an older generation by showing that the average age of church goers in 1979 was 37 which increased to 49 in 2005, clearly showing a trend towards an older congregation. Heelas also found that those involved with the New-Age Movements were mainly middle-aged or older; again supporting the recent trend.
Some reasons for why younger generations are less religious are because of the increase in religious diversity and scientific explanations in which young people seek more rational answers for things rather then turning for God for answers. It may also be because of the changes in attitudes surrounding religion such that there is less stigma and pressure attached to attending church than there was previously. However nowadays people can just practice religion at home. The privatised religion of believing without belonging (Davie) does show a reason for why young people participate in religious activity less than older generations but it is because of the fact they can practice privately with the help of media which is needed because of their changing patterns of employment and leisure (Sunday not seen as a ‘holy day’ – businesses can still stay open on this day, meaning people still need to work on this day so do not have time for church) and not because science is taking over religion with rational answers – religious activity is just harder to measure because of privatisation.
Crockett argues that there are two explanations for age differences in religious participation. The first is the ‘ageing effect’, in which people turn to religion as they get older. Heelas supports this by arguing that people become more interested in spirituality as they get older – as people approach death, they become more concerned with the afterlife and spiritual matters. As a result, they are more likely to attend church as they are worried about where they will go after they die, e.g. heaven or hell. The other is the ‘generation effect’. He believes that because society is becoming more secular, meaning religion is on the decline, then every new generation is becoming less religious than the last (argued that every generation is half as religious as the generation before) because less people are reinforcing religious socialisation. Thus congregations are therefore made up of mostly old people; this is not because the old are attracted to religion but because they grew up in a time when religion was viewed with more importance and was more popular and religious ideas were socialised heavily. If this idea continues as a trend, then it is likely that Christian beliefs will only be held by a minority due to the lack of religious socialisation given to each generation.
The idea that there is less religious socialisation is supported by Bruce who argues that there has been a decline in religious education through Sunday schools. So because children are not learning about religion within education, they are thereby less likely to view it with importance (supporting the generation effect theory). He found that 55% of children in 1900 went to Sunday school, whereas only 5% do now – explaining why young people are less religious, which has resulted in most established churches and denominations to decline rapidly. To conclude the two theories, Crockett himself argues that the generation effect is more a more significant explanation for the age difference in religious participation.
However, some young people may be attracted to New Right Movements which seem to offer a more exciting form of religion. Young people may want to experiment with different beliefs as they now live in a pick ‘n’ mix culture due to the increase of media and globalisation which has allowed people to participate in spiritual shopping whereby they pick and choose bits of beliefs they want. In the past this did not happen, the older generation just had traditional beliefs and religions – suggesting why it may seem that there is more religious participation by the older generation as young people see the traditional beliefs as outdated e.g. views on homosexuality and sex before marriage, so would rather turn to sects and cults, which is hard to measure in terms of participation. They may also turn to these sects particularly if the young people feel socially marginalised and insecure e.g. the Moonies and the Children of God are sects which target such people. In addition to this, middle-aged people who grew up in the 60s counter-culture may also find groups like NAMs fit in with their lifestyle and beliefs; rejecting the recent trend.
What is certain however, is that young people today are far less likely to have a religious socialisation from parents and schools. They have grown up in a consumerist, materialist society and look for satisfaction through these things rather than a future in heaven- implying that consumerism could be the new religion of our time. Moreover, one cannot just assume that it is the young generation that is losing importance over religion, secularisation trends show that it is the whole of society. This is because of desacralisation and the development of science in which more people are turning to science and rational thinking. Young people are just more prone to this due to more of a focus in schooling on science.