There’s a surprising new description for unchurched young adults in the United States: spiritual. Despite popular reports that young people aren’t interested in spiritual matters, a new survey by LifeWay Research and the Center for Missional Research at the North American Mission Board shows the opposite to be true.
According to the survey, 73 percent of unchurched 20- to 29-year old Americans consider themselves "spiritual" because they want to know more about "God or a higher supreme being." That figure is 11 percent higher than among unchurched individuals who are 30 years old and older.
The survey data was released in the book Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Reach Them by Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes. The book was published by B&H Publishing Group, the publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources.
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The survey also indicated that young adults have an openness toward conversations about Christianity. Eighty-nine percent of unchurched young adults say they would listen to what someone believes about Christianity. That number is 14 percent higher than among those 30 and older.
Young adults would also react positively to invitations from friends to study the Bible. Survey respondents were asked to affirm the following statement: "I would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked me to." Sixty-one percent of 20-somethings responded, "Yes." That’s about 20 percent higher than affirmative responses from older generations.
"It is a mistake to think that young adults, even unchurched young adults, are not interested in spiritual things," said Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. "They are interested, but they are looking for spirituality often in every place except the church."
The survey also revealed opportunities for churches among the 20-something crowd. According to the survey, 63 percent of young adults said they would attend church if it presented truth to them in an understandable way "that relates to my life now." Only 47 percent of respondents 30 years old and older agreed.
Unchurched young people also want to know the church cares about them. The survey found that 58 percent of 20-somethings would be more likely to attend if people at the church "cared for them as a person."
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