Today's Youth: Multi-Religious

Generation Y has been characterized as “directionless, lacking in community ties and meaningful participation in community life.” Now, more people are beginning to realize that Generation Y does have a strong and often quite spiritual sense of direction, although a less traditional one than that of previous generations.

According to a recent study, the children of Baby Boomers “see themselves as having the freedom to figure out who they are, to explore their relationship with God and spirituality, and to determine their place in society. This generation is characterized by open mindedness and tolerance, believing that people should do their own thing, even if it seems strange to others.”

Gillian Siple is a perfect example. Asked to describe herself in one word, her answer is simply “spiritual.” Siple, a religion major at Davidson College in North Carolina, lived for a year in China, Thailand and India. She meditated in monasteries and ashrams, lived and studied among Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus.

Back at Davidson College, though, she attends Christian prayer and fellowship meetings. She also meditates based on the teachings she learned in Thailand. “Siple calls herself a Christian pluralist, open to the possibility of the validity of other religious traditions.”

"You do what you feel is right for your religious practice," Siple says. "I think that is what our generation is screaming for right now. People want not to be told what they should do, but to figure it out for themselves."