Whither our children: Prodigals or ‘nones’
WASHINGTON (DC)
Angelus - Archdiocese of Los Angeles [Los Angeles CA]
January 27, 2023
By Greg Erlandson
Read original articleIn “Soul Searching” (Oxford University Press, $22.95), their 2005 book studying the spiritual lives of American teenagers, Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton had a harsh assessment of Catholic parents.
They said the religious engagement of Catholics teens, which they described as “fairly weak,” reflected the religious apathy of their parents. Their rule of thumb for us Catholic parents: “We’ll get what we are.”
But what happens when the parents have a high level of religious faith, knowledge, and engagement, yet watch their adult children drift away anyway?
I have recently been speaking with several Catholic parents concerned about their adult children’s lack of religious practice. All of these parents have a high level of faith commitment and involvement above and beyond just Sunday Mass attendance.
Some parents were actively involved in religious renewal movements. Some parents were active in working with the poor and homeless. Some were “professional Catholics,”…
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