Millennial Christians Queasy about Conversion

Last updated on: February 5, 2019 at 10:33 am by David Murrow

Millennial Christians Queasy about Conversion 2019-02-05T10:33:48-09:00 David Murrow

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

New research from Barna finds that almost half of practicing, born-again Millennial Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of proselyting those who practice other faiths.

They support evangelism in principle: more than 90% of these young believers agree with these two statements:

“Part of my faith means being a witness about Jesus”

“The best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know Jesus.”

However, they have qualms about sharing their faith with individuals of another faith. From the report:

Almost half of Millennials (47%) agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith. This is compared to a little over one-quarter of Gen X (27%), and one in five Boomers (19%) and Elders (20%).

Forty percent of Millennials also agree with this statement:

“If someone disagrees with you, it means that they’re judging you.”

I interpret these findings as further evidence of the feminization of society and Christianity.

Women are much more concerned than men with maintaining peace and harmony. They are more likely to shrink back from open confrontation and things that are considered “divisive.” Evangelism is by its very nature divisive. The evangelist must point out something lacking in another person’s life. Even when this is done with grace it can upset the one being evangelized (What do you mean I’m going to hell?) Evangelism can be interpreted as moral superiority (my faith is the right one, yours isn’t), which is anathema to modern relativism.

Millennials have been called the “bubble-wrapped generation.” They’ve been shielded and comforted their entire lives. Evangelism and conversion require uncomfortable conversations, and the airing of clashing opinions and worldviews. Apparently these are no-nos to an increasing number of young believers.

The report concludes:

Society today also casts a negative light on proselytization that many older Christians do not fully appreciate. As Barna found in research published in Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age, three out of five Christian Millennials believe that people today are more likely than in the past to take offense if they share their faith (65%)—that’s far higher than among Boomer Christians (28%). Millennials are also either two (Gen X) or three times more likely (Boomers and Elders) than any other generational group to believe that disagreement means judgment.

An increasing number of young Christians love the idea of evangelism – they just don’t want to practice it themselves. Better to stay silent rather than risk confrontation or disagreement.

Previous Post

January 29, 2019

Why We Despise Cutting-Edge Churches

Next Post

February 11, 2019 Living in an age of Morality without Mercy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category boys Bullying children's ministry Church Church planting church structure Communication Conservatism devotion Discipleship eternity evangelism Family Fathers Feminism Feminization giving thanks God Humor Jesus Leadership Liberalism Marketing marriage masculinity men's ministry men's studies mission movies Parenting Pastoring persecution Politics pop culture Prayer Preaching and teaching Prison Ministry religion secularism sex spiritual growth sports women Worship youth culture youth ministry

Select a Month July 2020 April 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the primary water source in Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Rain collection Well River Spring