Only about one in four teens now participate in church youth groups, considered the hallmark of involvement; numbers have been flat since 1999. Other measures of religiosity — prayer, Bible reading and going to church — lag as well, according to Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif., evangelical research company. This all has churches canceling their summer teen camps and youth pastors looking worriedly toward the fall, when school-year youth groups kick in.
“Sweet 16 is not a sweet spot for churches. It’s the age teens typically drop out,” says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, Tenn., which found the turning point in a study of church dropouts. “A decade ago teens were coming to church youth group to play, coming for the entertainment, coming for the pizza. They’re not even coming for the pizza anymore. They say, ‘We don’t see the church as relevant, as meeting our needs or where we need to be today.’ “
“I blame the parents,”who didn’t grow up in a church culture, says Jeremy Johnston, executive pastor at First Family Church in Overland Park, Kan.
True, I blame under-committed and over-scheduled parents and teens for losing interest, but it's also the fault of public schools for attempting to purge all aspects of religion from daily life, and for making fun of it whenever possible in their curriculums. They program kids to hate religion.
Marvin, you are delusional.
First of all, religion should be purged from schools. Before you jump to conclusions about me, you need to know, I am a Christian. However, I want my children to learn about God, Jesus, and the Bible from myself, my wife, and the specific church that I choose. Not all churches are equal. I do not agree with the teachings of some Christian denominations. My wife and I are United Methodist, so I'd prefer my children not learn about Jesus from a Southern Baptist teacher. I'd prefer that the schools stick with academics and leave the religion up to the parents and the church that the parents have chosen to attend.
As for your other "point", I've never seen nor heard of religion being made fun of in a public school.