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By Jim Coggins
CANADIAN teenagers are becoming more moral but less
religious, according toThe Emerging Millennials, the latest book by sociologist Reginald Bibby. It is based
on a survey of 4,746 high school students aged 15 – 19 conducted in
2008.
Almost two-thirds of Millennials said,
“What’s right or wrong is a matter of personal opinion.”
However, the percentage of teens who drink alcohol
declined from 78 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in 2008, the percentage who
smoke dropped from 37 percent to 22 percent, the percentage who use
marijuana or hashish dropped from 37 percent to 31 percent, and the
percentage who never have sex rose from 51 percent to 56 percent.
On the other hand, 72 percent of Millennials approve of
sex before marriage “when people love each other.”
Millennials with a definite belief in God are more
likely to value traits such as honesty and concern for others, and 95
percent of these Millennials believe God “expects us to be good to
one another.”
Monthly church attendance by teens has increased
slightly, from 32 percent in 1992 to 33 percent in 2008.
Moreover, an increasingly large majority of Canadian
teenagers who are actively involved in religious groups say their
involvement is important and enjoyable.
While this is evidence of “a theistic
comeback,” there is a “growing polarization” among
teenagers.
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At the other end of the spectrum, the proportion of
teenagers who never attend services has risen from 28 percent to 47
percent. Furthermore, 16 percent of Millennials are convinced God does not
exist, and 17 percent “don’t think so.”
A fuller report on Bibby’s book is available on
www.canadianchristianity.com and in the Spring 2009 issue of Options (both published by Christian Info Society).
Many of Bibby’s findings of improved morality
among teens are corroborated by the 2008 Adolescent Health Survey of nearly
30,000 B.C. teens aged 12 – 18, reported in the April 16, 2009 Vancouver Sun.
May 2009
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