Youth Spirituality & Narratives

This week I had the opportunity to participate in the Christian Research Association (CRA)’s Shaping Australia’s Spirituality Roundtable in Melbourne.

The theme and session topics for the Roundtable were informed by recently published research conducted by Dr Philip Hughes and CRA, providing a broad ranging overview of the spiritual dimension of Australian culture and an evaluation of Christian ministry in an Aussie context.

The theme for the day I attended was The Spirituality of Youth. It was a very informative day, with some of the major research findings highlighted and discussed. Participants engaged openly around the material presented. I was greatly encouraged to be amongst such a diverse selection of God's people (Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Uniting Church, Lutheran, Christian Schools, chaplaincy providers and para-church groups were represented). I was also encouraged by the genuine desire amongst those present to be better informed and to be willing to ask some tough questions about how the Australian Christian community can more effectively address the Spiritual needs of Aussie young people.

Research findings

Here are some key points which stood out for me amongst the research findings and responses provided on the day;

^Aussie youth, many of whom are experiencing increasing lower levels of identification with churches and religion, have no conscious awareness of their need for God or genuine spiritual formation.

^one of the greatest ‘sins’ identified by the younger generation is inauthenticity, ie you don’t believe in something simply because you are told to believe it. Young people are determined to make up their own minds – they believe they will find through experience what works for them.

^the major influences on their lives are relationships (friends and family), music (entertainment and self-expression), media (visual and digital) and education/employment (a complexity of options and pathways today). These aspects combined, help young people to frame their own identity and what represents a healthy lifestyle for them - they are actively constructing their own lives but are not sure what to believe.

^there is an increasing rate of mental illness evident amongst Aussie youth.

^many young people do not have many suitable forms of community to ‘grow into’ beyond school.

^4-5% of Aussie youth regularly engage with the Bible.

^there is an increasing acceptance of the role and value chaplains can have in Govt schools.

^young people can benefit from having a personal “immersion” experience, where authentic community can be experienced in an environment enabling them to engage in dialogue (rather than being preached at or taught specific content), where space is created to help them explore spirituality and where they can think through life’s big decisions in a constructive way. Camps and retreats were emphasised as ideal places for this to occur.


Midi & Meta Narratives – the stories of our lives.

CRA reported from a 2006 study of spirituality of young people in Britain (Savage, Collins-Mayo) which concluded that young people had no “meta-narrative” or big picture of the universe and their place in it. There was found however to be a very common story amongst young people as to what their personal lives were about. Researchers described this common personal story as a “midi-narrative”.

CRA assert that this is equally true for contemporary Australian young people; life through their own eyes is all about enjoyment, feeling good about oneself, sharing excitement, having good friends. They want a sustainable and secure environment, value helpfulness and when bad things happen they often turn to music, friends and sometimes God.

The issue of the midi-narrative came up numerous times throughout the day of the Roundtable gathering. I found this fascinating and affirming. Why? Because it highlighted something that more and more of my ministry peers have been talking about for the last few years; that we desire to help an emerging generation discover for themselves that (their) life finds it’s purpose and meaning only when understood within the context of a greater Story…God’s Story, as found in the Bible.

And so I was able to come away from my day at the CRA Roundtable with a positive outlook, convinced that the Australian Christian community can do something that can help to inform and shape the spirituality of young people in our communities, across our Nation. We can be intentional about creating environments and experiences that can enable a generation to understand and self-discover God’s Story for themselves, to explore spirituality, to contemplate life, to find their place in His Story, and to be transformed by a truly personal encounter with Jesus Christ.


“Great things are often achieved by small grass-roots movements.”
Kath Engebretson, Australian Catholic University