Why Young Adult Believers Are Turning Away from Religions: With a Focus on Religious Congregations in Downtown Seoul

• Main Author: Francis Jae-ryong Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: young adult believers; religious congregation; religious economies theory; Confucian habits of the heart
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/9/497

The sociological study of youth religion is a growing field of research. This essay focuses on the rising number of young Korean adult believers from five downtown religious congregations in Seoul who are leaving their congregations due to increased cynicism and as they re-examine their religious faith. Based on a series of in-depth interviews (Focus Group Interviews (FGIs)) conducted with both young adult believers and priests, this paper examines several key factors including why young adult believers decide to leave their congregations, how their congregations react to the changing environment, and whether they can develop innovative approaches to deal with the emerging situation. Although each and every one of the congregations considers this phenomenon to be a serious issue, the solutions they have applied to retain and attract young adult believers in and to their faith have so far been ineffective. Nonetheless, it is likely that the reason behind the failure to keep more young adults in their faith and congregation may correlate to how competitive and innovative solutions provided by the congregational leadership are as they attempt to tackle the ongoing issue of retaining and attracting young adult congregational members.