A piece from Opinion Journal looking at the beliefs of “born again” teens

About one-third of American teenagers claim they’re “born again” believers, according to data gathered over the past few years by Barna Research Group, the gold standard in data about the U.S. Protestant church, and 88% of teens say they are Christians. About 60% believe that “the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings.” And 56% feel that their religious faith is very important in their life.

Yet, Barna says, slightly more than half of all U.S. teens also believe that Jesus committed sins while he was on earth. About 60% agree that enough good works will earn them a place in heaven, in part reflecting a Catholic view, but also flouting Protestantism’s central theme of salvation only by grace. About two-thirds say that Satan is just a symbol of evil, not really a living being. Only 6% of all teens believe that there are moral absolutes–and, most troubling to evangelical leaders, only 9% of self-described born-again teens believe that moral truth is absolute.

Well, I don’t know about the materials that Protestants use in religious education and youth ministry, but when you look at the CBA world, and the books and magazines directed at teens from that angle….who can be surprised? Although I have to say that I don’t know how relevant these general type of surveys are – sort of like the surveys of Catholics that don’t distinguish between, say, regular-Mass attending Catholics and cultural Catholics. In my experience, only a small, tiny percentage of teens think systematically about faith or aren’t rather fluid in their beliefs. I mean, I was a pretty obnoxiously knowledgeable committed Catholic teen and I had my views, but some were firmer and more strongly held than others.