Photo courtesy Dann Ebina
Here is an extended excerpt from the prepared text of Kainoa Fukumoto’s Red Mass address Jan. 14 in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.
Another unfortunate characteristic of the millennial generation is their general apathy or indifference toward religion. Millennials are not only leaving Hawaii; they’re leaving the church. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, about 40% of millennials consider themselves religiously unaffiliated and that rate is rising every year, increasing at a pace more than twice that of the Generation X, three times the Baby Boomers, and thirteen times more than the War Generation.
Of those who do attend religious services, only about one-in-three millennials say they attend once or twice a month, while the majority of them say they rarely attend or don’t attend at all. But can we blame them? They grew up in households where religious indifference was more and more prevalent.
A separate study by the Pew Research Center said, “People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups.” Speaking specifically from my experience in working with millennials in ministry, we often discuss issues that directly impact us from the struggle of getting by with Hawaii’s high cost of living to social issues such as abortion and women’s rights to building TMT on Mauna Kea. Civic engagement is part of the greater discussion especially as our local millennials are faced with various challenges in today’s world. We encourage our members to go out and vote. The statement that “those who are active in religious congregations tend to be more civically engaged” rings true, at least in my experience.
Most millennials are not leaving the Church because they completely lost faith in Jesus Christ. Rather, they lost faith in the institution. A popular catchphrase a few years ago came from a YouTube video titled, “Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus.” I’m sure many of us are familiar with a study by the Pew Research Center last August that revealed that 69% of all self-identified Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; 69% of Catholics deny a central, essential, critical part of our faith. And it is not central and essential because the church said so; it’s because Jesus himself said so. In his words, he says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
In my opinion, the statistic of 69% of Catholics denying the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is symptomatic of a much larger issue. It seems the teachings of the church have become so watered down and lackadaisical that we have failed to properly catechize our own members. But young adults hunger for Truth, and we know that Truth has a name, and that name is Jesus. In this age of fake news and in this age where millennials are leaving in droves, the church needs to be that pillar and beacon of Truth, simply for the sake of the Gospel and for the salvation of souls.
And here is one more truth: Truth begins with trust. Just like we can’t believe fake news because we do not trust its sources, the church, and even government, must first establish a trusting relationship with its young people. Looking at the early church as an example, Jesus and the first Apostles are believed to be young adults. And during a time that lacked social media, their message somehow went viral. What is the church doing to build the trust of its young adults? What is government doing to build the trust of this millennial generation?
If the church and government can find a way to build these important bridges to engage millennials, there can develop an incredibly great force for good in our world. Millennials will make up about a quarter of the population which means about a quarter of this year’s voters will be millennials. Are we engaging this information-focused generation intellectually? Are we approaching them personally as well as digitally? Are we building trusting relationships with them?
The challenges millennials face today are partially inherited and partially created. Millennials, more than any other generation, have the opportunity to utilize the information accessible to them and the technology available to them to reshape this world for the better. I challenge all the millennials here this morning to spend less time on FaceTime and more time with face-to-face time, to continue to seek Truth in this world, to not get lost in the “decision fatigue” that plagues our generation, to pray for the spirit of guidance and wisdom especially for our church and government leaders, to be the change you wish to see, and to turn to the Jesus, who is Lord, in all your needs. Don’t feel entitled; feel empowered.
