Church in the 21st Century Center report shows “hope and opportunity”
A new report, 这是由电子游戏软件21世纪中心的教会进行的一个多年项目的产物, summarizes what more than 4,000 young people in U.S. Catholic high schools and colleges think about their faith and the Catholic Church. According to the co-directors of C21’s Student Voices Project, the findings, in some cases, are contrary to the popular narratives about this younger generation of Catholics.
Launched in 2019 as a way to “take the pulse” of young people’s faith, the Student Voices Project 揭示了在天主教高中和大学里有希望和机会, said C21 Director Karen Kiefer, who led the project along with Dennis Wieboldt III ’22, M.A. ’23, a member of the C21 advisory committee.
在高级副总裁的数据出来之前，基弗说她期待学生们说:“我是一个好人. I volunteer at a homeless shelter or am part of a social justice organization. I don't need to go to Mass. I don't need the sacraments.”
However, according to Kiefer and Wieboldt, 电子游戏正规平台结果表明，对于年轻人对天主教信仰的开放态度和对上帝在他们生活中的工作的好奇心，人们有了更细微的理解.
基弗补充说:“这些学生说，‘我想成为比我更伟大的事业的一部分. But I need help to figure out how to do that, and I want to do that with friends and other like-minded people. I want the Church to welcome me, see me, and hear me.’”
Among the key findings of the Student Voices Project:
In terms of faith formation, Catholic high schools and colleges are the new parish for young Catholics.
“天主教学校为学生提供了重要的机会，让他们就信仰进行对话，这是他们在其他地方没有的,” said Wieboldt. “天主教学校独特地让学生了解上帝如何在他们的生活中工作，并将有关信仰的对话带给更广泛的受众.”
Another interesting point centers on Mass attendance. “一般来说，年轻人不会和家人一起去参加周日的弥撒，”维博尔特说. 相反，他们通过在工作日与同学一起去做弥撒来维持自己的信仰.”
基弗指出，这一发现为美国天主教会提供了一个重要的启示.S. “There’s a lot of talk about the revitalization of parish life. 高级副总裁告诉我们，天主教高中和大学有办法与教区合作，共享资源和项目. 这可以帮助年轻人融入教区的生活，从而振兴当地的信仰团体.”
Church in the 21st Century Center Director Karen Kiefer (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
学生们很好奇看到他们的信仰通过天主教的知识传统在课堂上活了起来.
“Intellectual engagement with faith, both at the college and high school levels, helps students develop a deeper understanding of their faith,” said Wieboldt. According to the data, 高中学生希望他们的宗教课涉及通常被认为与宗教信仰相矛盾的话题, such as science, 这表明，看似对立的学科之间的对话可以帮助学生在信仰上成长.
“This finding offers an exciting invitation for Catholic schools,” said Wieboldt, 他补充说，不列颠哥伦比亚省的“复杂问题和持久问题”核心课程“示范了如何在课堂上促进跨学科的信仰参与?, 所以这是一个真正的机会，高中和大学合作，继续建立他们的项目.”
At the college level, according to the SVP, engagement with theology in the first year, especially through BC’s Perspectives and PULSE programs, changes the way that students think about the rest of their college years. “有些东西会以某种方式触动学生，让他们想要更多，挖掘得更深,” said Kiefer, 并补充说，这些积极的经历可以引导学生成为神学或哲学专业或副修专业.
Dennis Wieboldt III (Christopher Soldt)
与天主教学校导师的关系对年轻人的生活影响极大.
“When we asked, ‘Where do you see God in your life?’ A significant majority of students said ‘in other people.’ It was friends, classmates, teachers, vowed religious—especially at the high school level,” said Wieboldt. “我们看到，与高中导师的一次对话真的可以改变一个年轻人的生活.”
“Our findings show that teachers, coaches, and other high school staff have a priceless vocation,” said Kiefer. “They are true disciples who are making a difference.”
Sacraments matter to young people, especially confession.
“If I could shout it from the rooftops, I would tell every Catholic high school to have confession available every week,” said Kiefer, after looking at the feedback from the SVP.
“The weight of students’ worlds are so heavy. They carry around shame, regret, and unworthiness. 修和圣事是一个把这些说出来的机会，然后感受宽恕圣事的恩宠,” said Kiefer, a longtime religious education instructor and author of the children’s book Drawing God.
Wieboldt added that sacramentality—whether connected to Confirmation, first Communion, or otherwise—was often cited by students’ as their best experiences with the Church. “Something about the mystery of the sacraments attracted young people’s attention.”
“We are a sacramental Church,” added Kiefer. “These students are finding God in the importance of faith in the sacraments.”
Although young people care about social issues, 当年轻人被问及他们的信仰时，他们并不是第一个想到的.
“When we began the SVP, 我们预计年轻人对社会问题的关注将是该项目的主要发现,” said Wieboldt, who will attend the University of Notre Dame in the fall to pursue a J.D./Ph.D. “But when we began to analyze the data, 我们注意到，学生们谈论社会问题的频率比我们预期的要低得多，因为这些问题在媒体和文化中受到了更广泛的关注.”
Additional findings of the SVP are:
Young people are open to faith and discerning God’s will for their lives.
学生希望他们的信仰社区，并希望教会邀请他们更多地参与.
Young people want to participate in the liturgy, understand it, and be engaged with a community during Mass.
Students are open to learning more about prayer and traditional devotional practices, including the rosary.
大多数高中生和大学生都没有性侵危机的记忆，很大程度上也不认为这是离开教会的理由.
SVP最初的目的是对BC学生进行调查，以帮助C21中心制定计划. When Pope Francis announced the Synod on Synodality, 基弗意识到，对于那些没有通过教区聆听会议参与主教会议的年轻人来说，高级副主教将是一个很好的方式，让他们的声音被听到. 因此，这位高级副总裁与天主教大学和高中的年轻人进行了对话，讨论他们的信仰和对教会的希望. In the summer of 2022, the C21 Center compiled a report 代表了全国550名大学生和1500名高中生的声音，他们参加了第一阶段的SVP. The report was sent to Pope Francis, Boston’s archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley, and other Church leaders.
In the fall of 2022, SVP转而专注于为个别天主教学校和学校网络提供诊断工具. The SVP survey enables schools to learn what they are doing well, what their students wanted them to do better, and what their students need to grow in faith. Since the fall, an additional 2,000 young people have participated in the SVP. C21中心希望未来与天主教高中和大学的合作将有助于这一数字的增长.
调查数据由C21中心的工作人员进行分析，每个合作学校都会发布一份关于其学生群体的报告，并提供新项目的建议.
“我相信学生之声计划是C21中心能给教会最好的礼物之一，因为它表明, in a beautiful way, 希望和机会存在，以吸引年轻人为我们教会的未来,” said Kiefer.