A recent research study reveals the millennial generation may be, collectively, less religious, more often single, more racially diverse and more optimistic about financial hardship, though some University experts do not necessarily agree with all of these claims.
The Pew Research Center released the study in early March that includes a link to a “How Millennial Are You?” quiz, in which results are based on 14 questions. The questions cover a variety of topics including television viewing time, social media involvement, video game playing and even having a tattoo or piercing. A score of 73 or higher places the quiz taker in the millennial generation.
The millennial generation is defined in the study as individuals in the age group of 18 to 33 in 2014.
Assistant professor of sociology Heather Rackin said the study may not be accurately representative of the millennial generation as much as it is representative of younger people. Rackin also said the research does not appear to compare different generations to each other.
A millennial is someone born within a specific era of time, or generation, whereas being young is determined by literal age.
Rackin said there has been research showing the baby-boomer generation has become “more single” later in life because of the growing number of divorced baby-boomers. To conduct these types of studies, testing for differences in generations is essential, she said.
To test these results accurately, information about a 25-year-old from the millennial generation would have to be compared to the information of a baby-boomer at the same age.
“The quiz [specifically] asks questions that seem to be behaviors associated with younger people, not necessarily an entire generation,” Rackin said.
Religion is one of the main topics discussed in the study. It shows 29 percent of adults in the millennial generation are “religiously unaffiliated” compared to the 16 percent from the baby-boomer generation.
The research also shows 50 percent of millennials consider themselves politically independent. From this information, the study, as its premiere finding, says “millennials have fewer attachments to traditional political and religious institutions.”
However, Rackin said the question of being “religious” is difficult to define because some people may consider themselves religious or spiritual but do not attend conventional religious institutions. Much of the research collected regarding religion is based on attendance, so different forms of spiritually may not be represented in raw data, Rackin said.
“People generally take offense to being generalized, but statistical analysis represents general trends,” Rackin said.
Associate professor of religious studies Michael Pasquier said millennials are affiliating with religion in more ways than people who grew up in previous generations simply because the 21st century is more secular overall.
While this is a difficult concept to measure, Pasquier said Pew Research studies go further in measuring religious affiliation, taking into account various spiritual paths and religious mindsets.
Pasquier gave the example of a young person buying and reading the Dalai Lama’s latest book instead of going to church.
He said part of what makes Pew Research studies so interesting is the provocative and informative way the center presents the information. While the research may not answer every question, it cultivates interest and questions that need to be answered regarding religion and affiliation, Pasquier said.
“If you look around any [college] classroom on campus today, you will find more people that are atheist but also more that are identifying with spirituality in different ways,” Pasquier said.
“If you look around any [college] classroom on campus today, you will find more people that are atheist but also more that identifying with spirituality in different ways.”