We know of the church's insistence on ankle locking our children into their seats at church at a very early age. Done early, as children are rare to offer interrogating questioning in regards to the authenticity of the established set of dogmas being force fed to them, the church begins their assimilation. Within a few years, and before puberty's hormone monsoon washes over a young teen, the church hopes to have the brain turned over to the grace of the lord. In recent years however, the flock of teenagers hovering around the pews of a congregation has thinned faster than Oprah Winfrey over a purge weekend. So what role, in this increasingly secular society does religion fit in with a teen's life?
While it would be unfair to categorize every teen as a heretical vessel of sin spreading the evils of godless living, it is these pillars of secular living I am devoting my time and attention towards. Besides we know all about Christian teenagers. They are the ones that sign Virginity Pacts and wear chastity belts made from bits of the Spear of Destiny. The same teenagers signing these "contracts" are more inclined to engage in oral or anal sex by the way. They attend church every Sunday and typically have fainting spells during the rousing sermon, have Amy Grant programmed on the iPods, and probably are not as likely to be placed into such egregious stereotypes as I have lumped them. Point being...they are extremely boring. So bring on the godless demons!
In today's world, religion's role for most teens is surely to be the place their parents order them to one Sunday a month or at least for the Superbowl and World Series of a church's year, Easter and Christmas. The role of Jesus and his wandering band of Apostles plays about as well as that mixed tape of your favorite 80's songs you found under your driver's seat after twelve years of being lost. Teenagers heed the voices found only in their own heads, from their BFF's, peer pressure, blogs, or their rampaging hormones. Believing you would be able to wedge religion into an already crowded and confused psyche would be like believing certain people can rise after being crucified.
While Jesus feeding 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish is inspiring to some, to most teens, being able to do the Guns 'n' Roses guitar riff on Guitar Hero 3 resonates louder. Getting their driver's license and being able to keep it longer than the six weeks their best friend had it before an unfortunate public drunkenness rap is on the list of things to do. Making the team. Having a date for the prom. Controlling the ebola like spread of their acne. These are the things that play a role in the lives of teens. This is what has been religion's major problem with playing any sort of role in teenagers lives...being able to relate. What stories can be related to the current state of teen angst and lives? Samson and Delilah may some how be interconnected with why you didn't get invited to the hottest party of the year and certainly a schooled clergyman can draw comparisons to the story of Daniel and the lion's den and you not making the varsity team, but they are stretched and stretched too far. The stories lose their punch of credibility and lose their impact. Teenagers don't understand each other let alone one of the beatitudes. Beyond remembering the Ark, Jesus, and maybe the good Samaritan story, teenagers know more about world geography. Religion has stood pat. They have done nothing, short of recruiting "rock and roll" groups like Stryper and 'D' list actors like Kirk Cameron, to be relevant towards today's teen. The tortoise like movements of the church and it's rule makers have drug their feet for far too long. They have push the teens, the lifeblood of a church, away from the congregation by being stubborn to amend out of touch teachings and rules. Stories and rules that teens find boring, restrictive, and not pertaining to their environments.
The role religion plays in most teens lives is negligible. Families are at times lucky to see one another more than a handful of times during a given week, let alone gathering together and sitting in church for an excruciating hour. Teens' also come loaded with a full plate of problems, anxiety, stress, acne, hormone swings, and insecurities. Now throw in how they are born sinners, tattooed with the stain of two naked people hungry for an apple, and need to repent for something they weren't responsible for.
How one chooses to deal with real everyday problems is up to that person be they adult or teen. Today, may be more than at any other time, religion's role in a teen's life means less and less. Increasing time spent with sports, school, or anything else even remotely stimulating, has put a wedge between the teen and his lord. It does religion no good either, when their idea of an invisible being floating around controlling events and seeing all is unable or unwilling to answer the prayers of the teens the church is so desperately seeking. So for now, the role of religion in a teens life will be the obligatory twice a year jaunt to the church's big two events and maybe once more during the year, to be told the reason we have Christmas as advised by their mothers, and to give them something to pray to before the second line turns pink.