Morality vs. Holiness Among Young Christians

I ran across this collection of statistics and wanted to make sure I shared with you — in case you hadn’t run across it in your own online reading.

There’s a lot here.

And the good folks at Gallup did a great job of covering a broad range of “moral” topics.

What we don’t know about those who were polled for this data is what religious affiliation (if any) the respondents claim. Likely, it’s a pretty accurate cross-section of the American population, and therefore, it would be safe to say that these are the dominant “beliefs” of American culture.

If this is true, what do you see that concerns you most? What speaks to the issues you see among your students?

And maybe the bigger question for me is — how do we talk about holiness (being set apart for God) with a culture of students who have grown up in a culture with this kind of moral compass?

What are the implications for how they will approach their relationships during their formative college years? And how does that set the stage for their relationship(s) long after they’ve graduated?

And how do you understand the tension between faith and science that can be found in almost all of the questions in the poll? Do you see those same tensions in your students?

If you were to replicate this poll among the students are your campus, how do you think they would compare?

What opportunities for ministry do you see among these statistics?

Definitely more questions than answers today.

Love to hear your insights.

4 thoughts on “Morality vs. Holiness Among Young Christians

  1. I think, to begin at all to resolve these moral dilemmas (and the inconsistencies rampant in culture and church) is to recognize that there is no neutral ground (like science) from which we all can operate, while setting aside our particular (and private) religious beliefs.    What kind of moral vision underlies and provides support for this range of views that the list depicts?  Therefore, instead of arguing pros and cons on specific matters (like homosexual relations) we need to back up and look at how/why we we think about any moral questions.  This is harder work than just having an argument about a specific topic, but it is crucial for Christian leaders to begin to do so much more extensively than we do.  Otherwise, we’re simply aping popular culture with our sound-bites and our tweets.  (You’ll notice I didn’t say blogs! 🙂

    1. That’s a good word Steve! 

      And that’s why I asked the question about Holiness. I think we too often get into issues of “right or wrong” and neglect what it means to follow Jesus in ways that promote personal (and communal) holiness. What would Jesus really want me to do (or think) in this situation vs. what do I personally want and how can I justify it (or condemn it) in such a way that “I win.”

      Pursuing holiness is hard — and walking with college students (with all of their new found freedom), makes this conversation all the more challenging. I think holiness might get lumped in with the “rules and regulations” that young Christians thumb their noses at because it’s believed to be “institutionalized” religion and too restrictive.

      What do you think?

      1. I agree, Guy.  “Holiness,” if thought of at all, is usually thought of in terms of successfully following the rules and of thinking that one has achieved some sort of superior moral status.  (Which is to say, it’s nothing like the holiness that the Bible envisions.)  And this sense of superiority among Christians is exactly what young people resist and reject.  The irony, it seems to me, however, is that in thumbing their noses at organized religion, young people can quickly develop their own sense of moral superiority.  

        1. For sure. So how do we help them in this way?

          How do we encourage them to remain open to our “organized” religion such that they can see that we’re NOT talking about rules and regulations, but a relationship with God that draws us into more holy ways of thinking and being?

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