Author Description
Today's Twentysomethings Have Been Labeled The Lost Generation For Their Presumed Inability To Identify And Lead Fulfilling Lives, Kidults For Their Alleged Refusal To Grow Up And Accept Adult Responsibilities, And The Least Religious Generation For Their Purported Disinterest In Religion And Spirituality. These Characterizations Are Not Only Unflattering -- They Are Wrong. The Twentysomething Soul Tells An Optimistic Story About American Twentysomethings By Introducing Readers To The Full Spectrum Of American Young Adults, Many Of Whom Live Purposefully, Responsibly, And Reflectively. Some Prioritize Faith And Involvement In A Religious Congregation. Others Reject Their Childhood Religion To Explore Alternatives And Practice A Personal Spirituality. Still Others Sideline Religion And Spirituality Until Their Lives Get Settled, Or Reject Organized Religion Completely. Drawing From Interviews With More Than 200 Young Adults, As Well As National Survey Of 1,880 Twentysomethings, Tim Clydesdale And Kathleen Garces-foley Seek To Change The Way We View Contemporary Young Adults, Giving An Accurate And Refreshing Understanding Of Their Religious, Spiritual, And Secular Lives.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the actual religious and spiritual practices of American young adults to challenge prevailing cultural stereotypes that label them as lost, immature, or entirely secular. Authors Kathleen Garces-Foley and Tim Clydesdale utilize a combination of qualitative interview data and quantitative national survey results to construct a nuanced portrait of the twenty-something demographic. Their argument posits that rather than abandoning meaning-making, this generation engages with faith, personal spirituality, or secularism in diverse and intentional ways that reflect their specific life stages and social contexts.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of religious engagement across diverse young adult populations
- Examination of the transition from childhood faith to adult belief systems
- Data regarding the prioritization of spirituality during the settling-down phase of early adulthood
- A framework for understanding the spectrum of secular, spiritual, and religious identities
Scope Limits
- The study is geographically restricted to the United States
- The research focuses primarily on the religious and spiritual dimensions of life rather than broader economic or political factors
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Sociologists and religious studies scholars frequently cite this work for its empirical rigor and its ability to dismantle reductive generational tropes. Experts highlight the text as a foundational resource for understanding the shifting landscape of American religious identity in the twenty-first century.
Page Count:
256
Publication Date:
2019-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190931361
ISBN-13:
9780190931360
Religion
Spirituality
Sociology
Social Science
Young Adult Studies
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