After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- And Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion

In a volume sure to change how pundits and clergy think about religion in the contemporary U.S., prolific Princeton sociologist Wuthnow (American Mythos) assembles and analyzes a vast amount of data about the religious lives of Americans aged 21 to 45. His interests include the extent to which younger adults participate in organized worship, as well as how they think about spirituality, the relationship between religion and politics, and theology. Wuthnow insists that in some ways, todays younger adults are similar to their boomer parentsthe vitality of small groups, for example, is nothing new. But there are key differences, chief among them the tendency of todays younger adults to remain single longer than ever before. Married people are significantly more likely to participate in religious communities; at the same time, participation in at least some religious groups may make marriage more likely. Wuthnow argues that our society provides lots of structural support for children and teens, but leaves younger adults to fend for themselves during the decades when theyre making crucial decisions about family and work. Though long passages of dense statistics make for a sometimes clunky read, this book is terrifically important.