Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in Their 20s and 30s

by Mike Hayes

Book Overview

The rise of technology coupled with the tragic events of the past 6 years has created a shift in religiosity among the younger generations in the Catholic Church. Many of those above age 30 (Gen X) have been attracted to communal events that connect both disaffected and devout Catholics, who long for union with one another while eschewing the world on the solitary. Those below age 30 (Millennials) have a much different outlook. They long for a more...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809144875
• ISBN13: 9780809144877
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Paulist Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Must-Have

Absolutely fantastic reading. Thank you for the time spent writing this book, it's a must have guide for those working for the good of all those young people out there.

Very Informative

This book is directed primarily at those attempting to organize Catholic youth ministries, but it's a very insightful read for anyone involved in recruiting or organizing youth groups (religious or otherwise) at all. Mr. Hayes draws on his many years of personal experience with younger Catholics to identify a wide variety of interesting Gen X and Millennial profiles. He sheds light on much of the outdated logic or group think which has lead to the declining numbers of younger Catholics who are actively involved in organized church events/activities. He also provides us with many helpful suggestions on how to appeal to both Gen Xers and Millennials. The last chapter of the book gives step by step directions on how to organize and get your message through to today's young adults. The easy to follow directions make you feel as though you're reading one of those "For Dummies" books. Overall, this is an excellent resource for anyone who's looking to recruit and organize younger people of faith. Many older church organizers would be well advised to read this book.

Engaging and informative

This is a highly readable, informative, balanced book. I'm picky about books on this topic; many of them lump all young adults together into the same category. I appreciate how this book acknowledges the different types of young adults (those who focus on social justice, those who are drawn to the sacraments, etc.) and offers concrete ways to minister to them. It's a wonderful read for those who minister to young adult Catholics, as well as anyone who is curious about how the "younger generations" of Catholics experience their faith. Another unique feature of this book is the middle section, which offers in-depth profiles of a sampling of young adults. I'm someone who is fascinated by others' experiences of faith, so this section was a real treat. It's also a great way to put a "face" on the ideas discussed throughout the book. One last reason I enjoyed this book: when I was getting my teaching credential, one of my professors told us to think about past teachers we'd had, and the teaching methods they'd used that had worked for us. She then told us that we needed to learn how to teach in a way that was totally the opposite of that. Her point was that kids learn in a variety of different ways, and that if we fixate only on the methods that worked for us, we won't reach a huge number of our students. This book makes the same point with regards to faith. Everyone engages with their faith in a different way, and if we want to effectively minister to young adults, we need to provide a variety of ways for them to connect with their faith community (sponsoring all-night Adoration, organizing volunteer trips to the soup kitchen, etc.). That's such a crucial message, and this book does a great job of communicating it.

National Catholic Reporter

Young adults' search for God Reviewed by ERIN RYAN, National Catholic Reporter These days, there seems to be a lot of discussion in church circles about how young people are the future of the church and a lot of consternation about what Catholics can do to bring them in. However, most church ministry programs for young people tend to focus on teenagers or children. Two recent books speak to the young adults in our midst. In his book for youth ministers, Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in their 20s and 30s, author Mike Hayes makes it clear that young adults are more than just the church's "future." They are the church now. Mr. Hayes is the associate director of Paulist Young Adult Ministries and the managing editor and cofounder of the savvy bustedhalo.com Web site for Catholics in their 20s and 30s. His book provides a close look at young adults in two specific generations: those in the often cynical, questioning "Generation X," defined here as people born between 1964 and 1979, and "Millenials," defined as people born after 1980, who are more often concerned with rules and order. In Part One of Googling God, Mr. Hayes, who says he belongs to Generation X, explores how these two generations have been shaped by events in the world around them. Then, taking a cue from Mary Anne Reese in America and a symposium paper by Fr. Jim Bacik, he offers seven classifications or orientations that can be applied to young adult Catholics: eclipsed, private, ecumenical, evangelical, prophetic, sacramental and communal. Part Two of Googling God contains interviews with 12 young men and women ages 22 to 39, six in each of the two generations. Most are practicing Catholics, but some have stopped going to church. Some grew up in traditional ethnic Catholic families such as Hispanic or Filipino households; others grew up in ecumenical families that practiced different religious traditions. Many people who cross over the "evangelical" category, say, are looking for emotional experiences in their worship: "God often is so far removed from young adult life that they long for opportunities where they can see, feel, taste and smell the very fervor of religion," says Mr. Hayes, who points out the importance of following up these experiences with solid church teachings and guidance from ministers. In Part Three of Googling God, Mr. Hayes gives practical advice about methods of doing ministry and resources for further reading. He also stresses the importance of using technology, especially the Internet, and gives tips on how to start your own Web page, which every church should have, he says, in the age of Google search engines and instantaneous answers. Mr. Hayes also notes that all the young adults he interviewed wish for "a more collaborative dialogue between the church and young adults," and that whether they are from Steubenville or from a Jesuit parish in New York, they tend to think beyond "liberal" or "conservative" categories. And from the in