This is a sample article featured in the September 2004 issue of Quadrant

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    There are some interesting common themes in how Generation Y young people in Australia make sense of life, according to research undertaken by the Australian Christian Research Association. They interviewed 160 young people, most of them older secondary school students about their lives and values, and what spirituality and religion mean to them.

The important things in life
Fun and friends are the focus of life - very similar to the findings in the UK study of young people aged 10 to 14, Reaching and Keeping Tweenagers. There are two main areas of life that are important to students, relationships and personal enjoyment - the two large circles at the top of the chart on the next page.

Relationships
Friends and family were the two almost equally worthwhile aspects of relationships, with some more focussed one than the other. Love, listening and encouragement are the kind of things they value about relationships, as shown in the middle of the circle. Young people often saying that a parent was the person they most admired. Some of the students were almost apologetic for referring to their parents, but nevertheless admired them for their kindness, encouragement, support and care. In many cases the young person had a real friendship between one or other parent. Although some households have disintegrated, many families were functioning well and have strong relationships between young people and their parents.

Personal enjoyment
What they enjoyed doing included both active and passive pleasures and, as shown in the right circle, included sport, artistic activities, or watching television. The most fun they had ever had was at events such as rock concerts, taking part in extreme sport or while travelling or visiting a theme park. However, the activity was not as important as who they did it with - the people made the occasion fun, not just the event itself. So the greatest pleasure could be just ‘hanging out’ with friends.

    Enjoying life was more important for younger teenagers than older, and was also often linked to relationships, although for others it was more activity oriented. Younger teenagers (aged 13 to 15) were most likely to say that they wanted a nice car and a nice house, but many older ones explicitly said that having lots of money was less important than having enough to be comfortable and to have the freedom to do what they want to do.
Helping others and/or social justice was a third element in life for some of those surveyed.

The good life ...
For most young people the way forward involved completing their education satisfactorily and then getting a job (the box below the circles). Most wanted a job which interested them but which also gave them time for relationships and enjoyment of life, “I want to work to live, not live to work”, said one young person. However, several would look for a job where they could contribute to the lives of others, perhaps in medical work or among refugees.
    Underlying the desire for a good life were three more basic aspects, illustrated at the bottom of the diagram: religion, their own work and assistance from others. These were seen as resources which they could call upon to help achieve the good life, though the part they played varied. Religion, for example, contributed more in terms of relationships and less towards a good job.

... and the not so good
Many of them struggled when life became difficult, with some recognising that they were likely to get angry or upset and did not handle situations well. Others said they could talk things through with friends or family, with brothers and sisters often mentioned as being especially helpful for talking about issues which they did not feel they could easily share with parents. One way of coping with life was to ‘chill out’ and withdraw from everyday activities so they could think things through. Some would do this alone in their room, others listen to music or go for a run. Quite a few said that prayer helped.

The spiritual dimension
Most of those interviewed felt that there was a spiritual aspect to life. Many of them believed in God, but their understanding of God was vague - something out there, the One who made sure you did things right, or being in nature rather than the creator. One asked if belief in the self was the same as belief in God.
    About one third of them were involved in some way in church. Most of those who attended church had parents who also attended although they did not necessarily go to the same church as their parents. The researchers found four different attitudes towards church:

1. Duty - especially strong among immigrant families for whom church attendance was not only a religious but also a cultural event.
2. Ritual - church attendance gave a rhythm to their lives which they valued.
3. Personal - church involvement was a time to connect with God and this gave them help and support.
4. Values - especially likely among those who went to church only occasionally. They felt the values of church provided some direction for life and sensed that God was there for them even if they did not call on God very often.
 

    Faith played a significant role in the lives of some students while for others it was a small part of the backdrop against which they lived their lives. Religion was primarily seen in terms of its ability to help and change the individual and as such provided justification for the basic values of life. Few saw it as the major motivation to involvement in issues of social justice or changing society. In practice, religious faith was only one of several sources of help and direction, to which some young people would turn if they felt they needed to.

The implications
It is interesting that the researchers do not mention any antagonism to faith or church - these students were not anti-faith. The big question, yet again, for those working with young people is how to help them see that a Christian faith is relevant and helpful to them - to make it part of the vision and direction of their lives rather than only part of the background. We need, too, to help young people learn to cope with difficulty rather than hit out against it or withdraw from it, as well as enabling them to understand how their Christian faith can shape their values for life.

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