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This summer is the 3rd go-round of the "young adults are attracted to liturgy" story since 1980. It is the exact same story now on a 20 yr cycle.
1980: "Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail"
2000: Emergent and Ancient/Future faith
2020: A bunch of a-historical articles
1980: "Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail"
2000: Emergent and Ancient/Future faith
2020: A bunch of a-historical articles
It isn't a millennial thing. It is a post-evangelical thing that started with baby-boomers dissatisfied w/the evangelical subculture.
I think I can even make the case that it goes back to c. 1960 with Thomas Howard's memoir account in "Christ the Tiger."
I think I can even make the case that it goes back to c. 1960 with Thomas Howard's memoir account in "Christ the Tiger."
It was obvious enough two decades ago that I tried to convince my publisher (c. 2000) that this should be a book. It was on "post-evangelical journeys to the historic church." I even wrote the proposal, did early research & interviews.
Eventually, I laid it aside in favor of writing "Strength for the Journey" (my own memoir on the theme), pub 2002.
There's an entire chapter in my book on "how radical evangelicals love liturgy."
There's an entire chapter in my book on "how radical evangelicals love liturgy."
The more interesting questions seem to be:
1) Why does this happen every other decade or so - and why hasn't anyone (except me apparently) noticed the pattern?
2) And what happens AFTER "young evangelicals" don't particularly like liturgy any more? Where did they go next?
1) Why does this happen every other decade or so - and why hasn't anyone (except me apparently) noticed the pattern?
2) And what happens AFTER "young evangelicals" don't particularly like liturgy any more? Where did they go next?
Back c.2000, I interviewed dozens of post-evangelicals who became Catholic, Orthodox, and traditionalist Protestants. Went to their churches. Worshipped with them. In US & England.
It was interesting. But also kinda depressing. One can only take so much theological nostalgia.
It was interesting. But also kinda depressing. One can only take so much theological nostalgia.
There was an interesting group who didn't think RC, Orthodox, and Reformed were "historic" enough. They mostly became Wiccan. I also interview them - post-evangelicals who read Starhawk and made a case for nature-based liturgy.
OK: so now I'm going history deep:
Same thing happened in the 19th century, c. 1820, 1840 (skips 1860 due to obvious circumstances), 1880.
Same thing happened in the 19th century, c. 1820, 1840 (skips 1860 due to obvious circumstances), 1880.
There's a genuine multi-generational impulse away from evangelical religion among younger Americans that rears its liturgical head about once every twenty years since the Early Republic.
(FYI: The reason I laid it aside is that I couldn't convince the publisher that evangelicalism had enough discontents to sell a book about it - even then I was arguing that white evangelicalism was facing an reckoning whereby hundreds of thousands of young adults would leave.)
(And anyone wanting confirmation of this thread, just ask @julieingersoll. We talked about this a lot when I was doing the research.)
