Religion
In reply to the discussion: If millennials leave religion, then what? [View all]Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)religious leaders get more 'Francis-like'. I see a lot of disillusionment with 'organized' religion, not only because many of them push messages that are intolerant or anti-human, but also because they're so frequently hypocritical.
What could 'win back' younger generations to organized religion? Ditch the 'anti' messages, play up the positives of social and economic justice and equality and environmental stewardship. There are a lot of younger people who might not like 'woo' as you put it (and what the heck is it with DU and 'woo'? I'd seen the term before, but it seems to be a fixture on here of late.) but would be interested in working with groups focusing on helping the poor, preserving the environment, and similar social issues.
Just leave the hate and intolerance behind. Young people are savvy enough to realize that parts of the Bible might have had a value two millennia ago, but have been outgrown since. We've gotten a handle on trichinosis - there's no need to avoid eating pig (unless you're avoiding eating meat entirely, which is also cool), we've learned how to safely cook and eat various 'non-scaled' sea critters, there's no more need to 'be fruitful and multiply' (there are now probably too many of us), and we don't need the degree of utter conformity and respect for authority that might have been of more use in allowing small societies to survive in an age when groups would wipe each other entirely off the map. We can tolerate, and even embrace diversity to make us stronger in an age when genocidal acts are infrequent.