cover image A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation

A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation

Wade Clark Roof. HarperOne, $20 (294pp) ISBN 978-0-06-066963-8

Exploring religious values has helped the baby boomers to define themselves, according to Roof, a professor of religion at UC Santa Barbara. He and colleagues sent surveys to 2620 boomers in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio (chosen for regional variation) and conducted telephone interviews with many of the respondents. The book opens with the life stories of seven boomers culled from these interviews, emphasizing their spiritual growth and how they were influenced by such factors as family background and exposure to 1960s values. The stories reflect the generation's diversity: e.g., Mollie searches for meaning in ``New Age'' philosophies, while Linda, a born-again Christian, adheres to more traditional values. Later chapters explore spirituality vs. religiosity, seekers vs. traditionalists, fundamentalism and evangelism vs. the ``mainstream.'' Despite their seeming diversity, boomers were generally found to value experience over dogma, to distrust institutions, to seek personal over community fulfillment, and to change allegiances frequently. $25,000 ad/promo. (May)