The State of Religion and Young People 2023
Springtide Research Institute
EXPLORING THE SACRED
To think b
eyond disaffiliation, one useful path is to consider the experience of the sacred in young people’s lives and how they perceive it. The research of Springtide Research Institute published their latest project,, The State of Religion & Young People 2023: Exploring the Sacred, It details young people’s sacred experience. Young people shared that the sacred isn’t confined to certain spaces or places, but instead exists in moments that evoke feelings of awe, connection, reverence, or appreciation.
Perhaps most importantly, young people said they want more sacred moments. Our data show that these moments often positively impact their well-being, including how they feel about themselves and the lives they’re living. The data also serve as evidence that young people have a spiritual yearning and a desire to experience the sacred.
Realizing the impact that sacred moments can have, those who work directly with young people may try to coordinate or set the conditions for them. Yet the data show that sacred moments aren’t created or manufactured. Adults who want to help young people find sacred moments can instead focus on cultivating what we call a Sacred Sensibility.
Sacred Sensibility is a broader posture that enables young people to see something as sacred, appreciate its value as such, and respond to the sacred with openness to exploring its meaning and significance in one’s life.
Helping young people approach life with a Sacred Sensibility will allow them to:
- feel connected to the divine and others in new and different ways
- find a space to reflect on and process new experiences
- better understand themselves and the world around them
- experience the emotions that contribute to overall well-being
This text is a partial excerpt from the study, Exploring the Sacred.
The Voices of Young People Podcast
EXPLORING THE SACRED
The Springtide Research Institute showcases a podcast series featuring young people across cultural faith identities that explore the sense of the sacred for them.
Exploring the Sacred with Gabrielle, 24 and Viva, 21
Hear Gabrielle, 24, in California talk with Viva, 21, in Minnesota about an experience that evoked a sense of wonder,…
Exploring the Sacred with Anthony, 23 and Claire 21
Hear Anthony, 23, in California talk with Claire, 21, in Minnesota about an experience that evoked a sense of wonder,…
Exploring the Sacred with Brigette, 23 and Lensa, 16
Hear Brigette, 23, in Arizona talk with Lensa, 16, in Colorado about an experience that evoked a sense of wonder,…
What Can We Learn from Those Who Leave Church Practice?
This 25-minute documentary from Springtide Institute and St. Mary’s Press and Guidebook, unpacks the facets of religious disaffiliation, from the latest research to the stories of actual young people’s lived experiences. Well-respected researchers like sociologist Dr. Josh Packard, theologian Dr. Elizabeth Drescher, and pastoral minister Dr. Bob McCarty will help you make sense of what is happening, but more important perhaps is that they are helping to point you toward hope in the midst of your concern.
Get insight, and form a plan. With Beyond Disaffiliation, from St. Mary’s Press, you and your group will be guided through a planning process,
Learning from Catholic Disaffiliation
Cardinal Lacroix of the Archdiocese of Quebec, Canada, called on the church of Quebec not to struggle to hold on to what it has left but to see itself as a mission church outward, “We must reorient our pastoral teams toward a more intensely missionary activity, turned toward the people and groups that we join too little.”
Catholics, whether continuing their Catholic faith in a parish community, or not, do not compartmentalize their secular roles and experiences from their participation in the sacramental life. In our modernity, post-secular Catholicism recognizes the mutual relevance of the religious and the secular, as well as their tensions.
A Conversation on
Religious Disaffiliation from the Catholic Church with a Teacher and Student
This essay explores the experience of disaffiliation through a research portrait of a conversation between one affiliated religious educator and his disaffiliated former student, and in the conversation, much can be learned.
A New Model for Understanding the Dynamics of Catholic Disaffiliation
I suggest that disaffiliation and affiliation alike must be understood not exclusively as concerned with individual events in the life of a person, rather, we must contemplate the social reality in which we abide.
Becoming a Eucharistic Culture of Affiliation as We Learn from Disaffiliation
Post-COVID-19, parishes must build a Eucharistic culture in their communities, and a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to the Church and to the world where the Church resides. Eucharist engages us with the world where disaffiliation is born.
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