From Marriage to Parenting: Faith Formation with “Next Generation” Adults

1. From Marriage to Parenting: Faith Formation with “Next Generation” Adults John Roberto (jroberto@lifelongfaith.com)

2. Marriage & Family Trends

3. Trends in the Catholic Church 2001-2010 (Using figures from the Official Catholic Directory) • Catholic population + 3 million (68.5 total) • Parishes - 2,500 • Marriages - 70,000 (168,400 total) • Infant Baptisms - 150,000 (857,410 total) • Adult Baptisms - 43,000 (119,00total) • First Communions - 71,000 (822,000 total) • Confirmations - 7,000 (622,000total) • Children (parish) - 400,000 (3.1 million) • Teens (parish) - 78,000 (689,552) • Catholic grade school - 500,000 (1.5 million) • Catholic HS students - 70,000 (611,723)

4. Trends in the Catholic Church • The number of marriages celebrated in the Church has fallen from 415,487 in 1972 to 168,400 in 2010 — a decrease of nearly 60 percent — while the U.S. Catholic population has increased by almost 17 million. • To put this another way, this is a shift from 8.6 marriages per 1,000 U.S. Catholics in 1972 to 2.6 marriages per 1,000 Catholics in 2010. (CARA, 2011)

5. Changing Views of U.S. Family Pew Research, 2011

6. Generational Change

7. Generational Shifts Among those in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s…. • Increasing number of “Nones”- Religiously Unaffiliated • Increasing number of “Spiritual but not Religious” • Accepting and embracing diversity: culturally, sexually, family structures • Living together, marrying later, and having children later • Declining participation in Mass and Sacraments, especially Marriage, Baptism and First Eucharist for Children • Declining levels of family faith practice & socialization

8. Impact of Generational Shifts • Significant Generational Change began in the early 90s among the younger generations and isinfluencing society and the older generations • These trends are having a significant impact on a Life Cycle approach to faith formation and church life, in general. • fewer marriages – marrying later – fewer baptisms – fewer young families – lower Mass attendance…

9. Spiritual & Religious Diversity • Will trends in U.S. culture lead people to become more receptive to organized religion, and in particular Christianity or will trends lead people to become more resistant to organized religion and Christianity? • Will people’s hunger for and openness to God and the spiritual life increase over the next decade or will people’s hunger for and openness to God and the spiritual life decrease.

10. Faith Formation 2020 Matrix Dominant Cultural Attitude toward Organized Religion Receptive Low High People’s Hunger for God and the Spiritual Life Resistant

11. Spiritual & Religious Diversity

12. 21st Century Approaches

13. 21st Century Faith Formation What could a 21st century approach to faith formation look like? • How would we address the diversity of people’s religious and spiritual needs today? • How would we engage people? How would we reach people? • What technologies would we use? • What resources would we access?

14. Significant Shift Shifting from. . . “One Size Fits All” Curriculum & Programming to A Network of Personalized & Customized Faith Formation Activities & Resources focusing on addressing people’s spiritual and religious growth by offering a wide variety of religious content and experiences “Differentiated Faith Formation”

15. A Network Approach A Faith Formation Network is a way to provide faith formation for everyone, anytime, anywhere, 24x7x365.

16. Learning in the Age of Networks

17. Features Utilize a variety of faith formation models to address the diverse life tasks, religious and spiritual needs, and interests of people: • on your own • at home • in small groups • in large groups • in the congregation • in the community and world

18. Diversify Faith Formation Models

19. A Process for a Developing a Personalized Faith Growth Plan

22. Building Networks • Around Sunday worship • Around service and mission projects • Around programming: children’s faith formation, youth ministry, Vacation Bible School • Around age groups/generations: young adults, midlife adults, Baby Boomers, older adults • Around families

24. Promoting/Marketing Network • Connect it to a gathered event (Mass, sacramental celebration, Church Year season) • Connect it to a parish-based program • Connect it to a life stage or milestone event • Use Facebook - regular announcements • Use an E-newsletter (Constant Contact or Mail Chimp) – regular “mailings” • Create interest through short “You-Tube” style videos • Create testimonials • Engage users to invite others to be involved

25. Fashioning Faith Formation around Married Couples

26. Building a Network:Newly Married Couples

27. Couples before Marriage

28. Couples after Marriage

29. A Network for Married Couples

40. Vibrant Faith @ Home

41. Social Network/Group

42. Fashioning Faith Formation around Young Families

43. Family Religious Socialization • Parent Influence: The single most important social influence on the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents is their parents. • Embedded Family Religious Practices: Effective religious socialization comes about through specific religious activities that are firmly intertwined with the daily habits of family life

44. Family Socialization • The single most important influence on the religious and spiritual lives of children, teens, and emerging adults is their parents.

45. Family Socialization Children and teenagers with seriously religious parents are more likely that those without such parents to have been trained in their lives to think, feel, believe, and act as serious religious believers, and that that training “sticks” with them even when the leave home and enter emerging adulthood. (Souls in Transition: The Religious & Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults by Christian Smith with Patricia Snell)

46. Family & Household Faith Qualities(Spirit & Culture of YM Study)

47. Family & Household Faith Qualities(Spirit & Culture of YM Study) Faith of the Parents… • My faith helps me know right from wrong • I have a sense of sharing in a great purpose • I have had feelings of being in the presence of God • I have a sense of being saved in Christ • I am spiritually moved by the beauty of God’s creation • God helps me decide what is right or wrong behavior • I have found a way of life that gives me direction.

48. Family & Household Faith Qualities(Spirit & Culture of YM Study) Faith of the Parents… • Religious faith is important in my life. • My life is committed to Jesus Christ. • My life is filled with meaning and purpose. • I have a real sense that God is guiding me. Each of the 11 items rate 7.30 or better on a 9.0 scale.

49. Family & Household Faith Qualities(Spirit & Culture of YM Study) Teens: How have your parents influenced your faith life? • Values are focused on serving others and God. • Positive influence on my religious faith • Talk with me about my relationship with Jesus Christ • Attending Sunday worship • Talked with my parent about religious faith • Reading the Bible

50. 44 Faith Assets:Family & Household Faith Qualities • One in four teens said their family sat down together and talked about God, the Bible, and other religious things on a weekly or daily basis. • 40% of teens said they did this once or twice a month.