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The Juvenilization of American Christianity
The Juvenilization of American Christianity Author:Thomas Bergler Pop worship music. Falling in love with Jesus. Mission trips. Wearing jeans and T-shirts to church. Spiritual searching and church hopping. Faith-based political activism. Seeker-sensitive outreach. These now-commonplace elements of American church life all began as innovative ways to reach young people, yet they have gradually become accepted a... more »s important parts of a spiritual ideal for all ages. What on earth has happened?
In The Juvenilization of American Christianity Thomas Bergler traces the way in which, over seventy-five years, youth ministries have breathed new vitality into four major American church traditions ? African American, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic. Bergler shows too how this ?juvenilization? of churches has led to widespread spiritual immaturity, consumerism, and self-centeredness, popularizing a feel-good faith with neither intergenerational community nor theological literacy. Bergler?s critique further offers constructive suggestions for taming juvenilization.« less