Dear Friend and Reader,
AS SOMEONE WHO lives in evangelical-land and who has a few friends who tread in the murky waters of the Christian publishing industry, I can answer that question with an insider’s absolute “yes, sister.” But splitting how? And along what lines? And for what purpose? Those answers will become more obvious in the next decade, as Generation Dobson cedes its influence to Generation Emergent. In recent years younger evangelicals have been demanding a greater voice in their churches. But what they value and how they intend to pursue those values is at odds with the dominant, older evangelical culture.
On Tuesday, NPR’s Terri Gross looked at the “future of the religious right.” With her usual candor and intelligence, Gross interviewed Richard Cizik, the lead lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals, on NPR’s Fresh Air. In it Cizik talks about the generational split within the evangelical movement, and suggests that, because of the influence of younger evangelicals, he is reconsidering his ideas about gay marriage and environmentalism.
Who is this younger generation? Astrologically, they might be considered Generation Pluto in Libra (born 1972-1984) and Generation Pluto in Scorpio (born 1984-1996). These cohorts are pegged to bring about changes in relationship models (Libra) and redefine our concepts of sexuality (Scorpio).
Walk into your average white suburban evangelical community and you’re bound to see these folks. They’re easy to pick out in (mostly) white suburban churches: amid a sea of standard business casual uniforms, they’re the the ones with the tattoos and the pierced noses. Outside of surburbia, the predominately urban Emergent church movement is composed almost entirely of young evangelicals whose church services are counter (evangelical) cultural in structure and content, sometimes resembling what could only be described by outsiders as group raves. (Substitute the Holy Spirit for acid, and you’ve got a decent picture of what they’re after.)