Millennials Invent New Religion: No Hell, No Priests, No Punishment

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/7515/millennials_invent_new_religion__no_hell__no_priests__no_punishment/

January 29, 2014
By CANDACE CHELLEW-HODGE


Shiny, happy people

"Isn't it blasphemy to invent a religion?" my student asked with concern.

Every semester, in the comparative religion class I teach at a local community college, I ask my students to divide into groups and create a religion from whole cloth.

"All religions were invented at some point," I offered, reminding him that while Jesus may have assigned Peter to be the rock upon which the church would be built, it was up to everyone else to determine the details.

It's fascinating to watch the young (with a smattering of older) students invent a new belief system. I give them some guidelines: their religions must include some common elements such as doctrine, dogma, symbols, music, rituals—and most importantly, reformers.

More at link

[loudsue]

1. Wow. I would totally analyze this paragraph differently given the other factors:

Which brings us right back to what all these millennial religions lacked: leadership, community, discipline and a sense of a larger mission for their invented sect. It would be unfair to say that millennials do not appreciate discipline or that their actions have consequences; I found many of my students to be smart, industrious and willing to work hard.

It looks to me like they are foregoing the authoritarian part, and are separating out the marriage of religion and politics which we see so much of in today's world, that is causing so much trouble IN our world.

It may look more like the Occupy movement/philosophy, which I am in total agreement with: we need to see what works, not what "has been".

[cbayer]

3. I think she goes on to make your point, so I'm not sure you disagree.

She notes that what they reject is the idea of "rock star" leaders and rigid doctrine.

The OWS movement did seem to address much of that, but in some areas it fell into disarray because of conflict between leaders and fights over who was in charge.

The view of the millennials might be a bit utopian, but weren't we all at that age?

At any rate, what she is saying here should be heard by the groups (religious or not) who wish to grow their ranks to achieve a shared purpose.

[loudsue]

4. I admit, I quit reading after that paragraph...

I see I shouldn't have.

Actually, what the kids are putting together looks more like Christianity PROBABLY looked when Jesus lived and just after he died. Small groups discussing things together, and thinking (soberly) on them. The opposite of today's megachurch experience.

[cbayer]

5. That's an interesting concept.

But it makes a lot of sense.

It also sound a lot like what we saw, and some of us did, in the early 70's - Peace and love with a generous helping of spirituality.

The megachurches definitely found their audience, but I think (hope?) they are on their way out.

[loudsue]

6. I live in the south. They are reproducing megachurches.

They're breeding them like rabbits, or more like roaches. More being built every day.

[cbayer]

7. Someone else reported that recently as well.

We took a cross country road trip last year and did all back roads. Most of the trip was in the south, both going and coming, though we went through about 20 states.

While we saw some being built, we also saw quite a few that looked like they had been abandoned. I don't have any numbers of what is actually happening out there, but it would be interesting to see where they may be thriving and where they are dying.

The numbers about the "nones" are pretty irrefutable though. Young people are leaving organized religion in droves, even if they still consider themselves believers.

It will be interesting to see whether they are happy being unaffiliated or whether they will build something new.

[Bad Thoughts]

8. Don't some of us argue that religion follows authority ...

... rather than creates it? It would make sense that the religion someone invents reflects the power structure that one would want to serve and the extent to which that power structure can be realized. The religion that "millenials" would build is only utopian in comparison to major religions, but it seems less so with regard to American political culture.

[cbayer]

9. I'm not sure I follow you here.

What she says she found is that her students rejected authoritarian religious leadership and went for a more community based, possibly consensus driven, internal structure.

I'm not sure how this compares to american political culture.

[Bad Thoughts]

10. I was more interested in your notion that the students were "utopian" eom.

[cbayer]

11. What I meant is that people in the age group she is referencing

tend to design and develop rather utopian ideas, like organizations without leadership, lack of negative consequences and a sense that things can be good all the time.

I know that is how I and others felt at that age.

[TlalocW]

2. Only blasphemy if you're able to convince celebrities to join it

And plague the rest of us with their combined stupidity like L. Ron Hubbard.

TlalocW