Another reason why young people seem to participate less in religious activity is because of the declining attraction of religion to the younger generation, as religion isn’t as desirable as it used to be. It is argued that young people may find the concept of religion unattractive because they don’t get anything out it and the services could be seen as old-fashioned, repetitive and boring from their point of view. Similarly, there are practical reasons why the younger generation participate less in religious activities, as younger people would prefer to do other things. This is because leisure has become a bigger part of people’s lives as compared to other generations and they have more of a choice of what to do. For example, younger people can watch TV, use computers, go shopping and go out with friend and they can choose to do something more interesting than participating in religious activity, which they may see as boring. Also, younger people may suffer from peer pressure, which promotes the fact that religion is ‘uncool’ and that they shouldn’t be religious. Therefore, younger people are less likely to participate in religious activity because they see religion as being boring and because would prefer to do something more enjoyable with their time.
Also, within a postmodern society, religion has become more diverse and there has been an increase in scientific explanations for things that were previously linked to religion, meaning secularisation has occurred. Due to this there has been a change in attitude towards the importance of religion, as it has lost its influence and power within society. For example, Lyotard suggests that religion has lost its power to give explanations and interpretations about the world, which limits its influence over others. This means that younger people can choose their own beliefs and explanations about the world because of the growing rationalisation and religious diversity. Therefore, because religion isn’t as vital, there has been less importance placed on religion and it isn’t as necessary in today’s society. Thus, younger people don’t see the need to be religious because it doesn’t hold any importance. Whereas, older people still believe that religion is important because that was the norm in their generation.
However, Davie believes that even though the younger generation aren’t participating in religious activity, this doesn’t mean that they are any less religious than previous generations because they are ‘believing without belonging’. She argues that religion has become privatised within society and young people may be treating their religion as a private matter, meaning that they might have a religion, but are not participating in activity involved with it. This links with the fact that religion has become more diverse, as younger people can choose the specific parts of religion that they want to believe in and what parts they want to display to others. Therefore, Davie believes that the reason younger people are participating less in religious activity is because religion has become privatised and they aren’t displaying their beliefs by participating in religious activities.
Voas and Crockett came up with a reason why older people are more likely to participate in religious activity compared to the younger generation, which they called the aging effect. This is where people are more likely to turn to religion when they are older because they get greater benefits from it, e.g. support and comfort. Heelas states that the older generation have a greater interest in spirituality as they get older. This is because they are naturally becoming more concerned with these matters, e.g. the afterlife, due to the fact that they are approaching death. Thus, the older generation seem to participate in religious activity more than the younger generation because they get something out of religion, whereas the younger generation don’t.
Another reason why the older generation are more likely to participate in religious activity is because they become disengaged from society. They are disengaged from society because they don’t have paid employment, which limits the socialisation that they have, and they face isolation because friends and family may pass away. Therefore, older people are more likely to become involved in religious activities because churches provide community and support when they might need it the most. Also, because older people are faced with death, due to declining health, then they might seek solace within religious because it provides them with insurance, comfort and support. Thus, the older generation participate in religious activity more than the younger generation because they have a greater interest in religion, because of what it provides them, than younger people.
In conclusion, young people are less likely to participate in religious activity compared to the older generation because of the postmodern society, where religion has become privatised and diverse and people have become more rational. This gives the younger generation the ability to choose what specific parts of a religion they want to believe in and how they want to display their religion. Thus, their religious activity becomes privatised and specific to one action, which traditional religions don’t see as actually being religious activities.