Growing Edge
October 1, 1998
Each Sunday a mob of young people clad in an array of GenX urban-wear (oversized, retro, torn, tight, pierced) as well as an array of urban-attitude (ambivalent, cynical, self-absorbed and generally bored) crowd the front pews of our church to worship God. However, their slouching during the sermon and swaying during the singing spurs askance glances from the more traditional set. An older woman confronts me afterwards: "When are you going to teach these kids how to act in church? Their behavior is outright profane."
Au contraire, argues Tom Beaudoin in Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X (Jossey-Bass, 1998; to order, call 415/433-1767). Using irony as your magic decoder ring, what appears profane is in fact profound. GenX expressions of "religiosity" have simply moved from the arenas of conventional religion onto a stage more parallel to popular culture.
Irreverent religion
A layered effort (that reads like a master's thesis), Beaudoin makes deep forays beyond the apparent irreverence of music, television, fashion, and cyberspace to conclude that religion still matters but in ways you may not naturally decipher. He does get a little carried away (Pierced navels as a form of stigmata and tight jeans as surrogate parents? Please.) Nevertheless, he renders a creative (if not totally convincing) case for shifting religious categories to accommodate faith that arises from pop culture.
Employing a theo-cultural methodology (eerily reminiscent of the hermeneutical circles of liberation theology), Beaudoin unveils four primary theological themes characteristic of GenX religiosity, each of which carries implications for pastoral ministry.
1. Suspicion of institutions
Disenchantment with acquiescent institutions ...
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