Researchers at Arizona Christian University's Cultural Research Center published a report in October detailing how millennials have sought answers to their problems while "disengaged from spiritual teaching and practice, resulting in a paucity of knowledge, understanding, experience, and growth in this realm."
The research report also revealed how about one-third of today's millennials who view Jesus and the Bible favorably actually identify as LGBT.
The research report titled "New Insights into the Generation of Growing Influence: Millennials In America" was spearheaded by lead researcher Dr. George Barna, who wrote in the analysis that "For understandable reasons, millions of millennials reject organized religion, or have qualms about religious leaders, and especially about religious people who may prove to be hypocritical."
Dr. Barna explained, "Their experiences, observations and assumptions regarding religion, spiritual beliefs, and faith practices have produced a turbulent spiritual experience."
According to the Christian Headlines, the 62-page study revealed how 59% of millennials viewed Jesus Christ as at least "a little positive," versus 39% who viewed Jesus Christ as "very positive." Meanwhile, 29% of millennial respondents aid they had a "very positive" impression of the Bible. About half of millennial respondents said that Christianity as a whole was "a little positive."
The research report also revealed that most millennial respondents rejected atheism, with just 25% saying it was a "little positive" and 8% saying it was "very positive."
Meanwhile, among those millennial respondents who said they viewed Jesus and the Bible favorably, 65% said they were professing Christians. However, this same set of people admitted to holding views that contradicted the biblical worldview, specifically those on sexuality and the sanctity of life. Research revealed that 30% of the surveyed millennials and about 40% of the surveyed adults aged 18 to 24 identified as LGBT.
"The proportion of young adults who identify as LGBTQ is roughly three times the proportion identified among the combined older adults of the nation," Dr. Barna said of the results of the research. "Given the moral and political implications of such an identity, that self-characterization alone raises a range of emotional challenges."
The Christian Post reported that based on Dr. Barna's research, up to 75% of millennial respondents who identify as LGBT also admitted to "searching for a sense of purpose in life." The lead researcher explained that there was a "widespread confusion" among young adults with regards to various aspects of their identity, including "spiritual, sexual, and also related to their sense of purpose in life."
The reason behind this is that young adults create "a self-image that is built upon self-centeredness, self-reliance, and independence" to respond to the "direct outgrowth of that spiritual wisdom vacuum."
This struggle is evident among millennials who identify as LGBT but are also Christian. The Columbus Dispatch in June shared the stories of LGBT Christians such as Rev. Luther Young Jr., who "struggles with reconciling his calling as a clergyperson with being a member of the LGBTQ community" because Baptist congregants said "they weren't ready to have an openly gay minister on staff." Rev. Young admitted to feeling "hurt and confused" when he asked God, "Why are you calling me to something when the people don't want me here?"
