Confrontations and tensions between Baby Boomers and younger generations in churches and the wider society are nothing new, but these generational rifts are not necessarily following traditional scripts. In the conservative e-journal Public Discourse (November 13), James LaGrand reports that traditionally minded younger church members have been opposing Baby Boomers for their progressive leanings and teachings. This could be clearly seen at a recent denominational meeting of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), where delegates debated a motion opposing same-sex marriage that was prompted in part by two LGBTQ+ affirming churches in the denomination having ordained women in same-sex marriages to the office of deacon. Taking the conservative side in the debate was not “the wizened heads” at the meeting but two relatively young pastors.
Source: LeadBiblically.com.
In fact, a “disproportionate number of delegates who were fairly young or new to the denomination successfully passed the statement codifying a traditional Christian view of human sexuality,” LaGrand reports. “At first blush,” he notes, “this episode might seem surprising and counterintuitive. Is it not the young who are to lead their foot-dragging elders toward the right side of history, toward progressive views on social and cultural issues including human sexuality?” While it is true that young people in general do tend to support progressive stands on sexuality and gender, LaGrand notes that the sub-population of young people still attending church have caught some progressive Baby Boomers by surprise in not sharing their cultural values. He argues that the generations’ different moral and cultural experiences explain much of this trend. Baby Boomers in conservative churches like the CRC struggled under strict upbringings and were shaped by liberation movements that valued individual freedom and authenticity.
However, “those in younger generations who have remained in the denomination [and many have left] or joined it recently see themselves as being formed in a different America than their Baby Boomer elders.” They have seen “respect for authority, institutions, and traditional values erode during their lifetimes, and many of those who have remained in the church seek social and cultural goods different from what their Boomer elders value.” LaGrand sees a similar dynamic developing among younger conservative Catholic priests, as well as a movement of younger conservative Christians toward traditional Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and conservative Anglican and global Methodist churches. Online thinkers who question progressive social values, such as Jordan Peterson, Mary Harrington, Jonathan Pageau, and Spencer Klavan, are most popular among younger adults, while Baby Boomers are unlikely to have heard of them.
(Public Discourse, https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2024/11/96403/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-surprising-generational-rift-in-the-christian-reformed-church)