And yet, despite their optimism, conventional outlook, and robust interest in faith the Millennials are moving away from church:
[Millennials] are, for example, the least officially religious of any modern generation, and fully 1 in 4 has no religious affiliation at all. On the other hand, they are just as spiritual, just as likely to believe in miracles and hell and angels as earlier generations were. They pray about as much as their elders did when they were young–all of which suggests that they have not lost faith in God, only in the institutions that claim to speak for him.
How do you explain these trends? If Millennials are optimistic, conservative and religious why would they leave the church? It can’t be due their liberalism, cynicism, or irreligiosity. So what is it? My argument hits on what Gibbs notes as the defining characteristic of this generation: mobile social computing. One of the key attractions of the church in past generations–social connection–has been effectively replaced.
Again, Facebook killed the church.
via Experimental Theology: More on How Facebook Killed the Church.