Templeton Religion Trust
Can faith-based peacemaking revitalize the spiritual life of Gen Z and help society too?
We live in a world of unprecedented social turmoil and division, one desperately in need of peace.
While young adults see the suffering and despair and yearn for change, they’re not necessarily turning to faith communities to get it. In fact, many are leaving them.
Societal divisions aren’t the only reasons members of Gen Z are turning away from the Christian church. But it’s clear that they play a very significant role.
One organization is taking action. The Peacemakers Coalition is using a faith-based peacemaking model to see if it might revitalize the spiritual life of the emerging generation and perhaps have an impact on society overall. Through a series of programs for college students –– including on-campus events, podcasts, and service events–– the group’s leaders are taking on a common problem young adults have with faith communities: the Christian Church’s non-inclusive, us-versus-them image. In the process, they’re working to spark a reengagement with faith.
“Peacemakers coalition events definitely feel different than your typical or historic campus ministry,” said Kori Porter, the group’s CEO, “primarily because we don’t lead with the ‘one-two-three, this is the gospel salvation message to get saved and baptized.’ What we first do, like Christ did, is we come to understand and care for the person.”
The Peacemakers Coalition’s programs are designed to counter the key obstacles to peace that are impacting young people today.
The first obstacle: isolation. To reach a generation that spends more than 80% of its time on screens, the Coalition hosts large event gatherings that encourage students of all backgrounds and beliefs to leave their phones and come together.
“These mobile phones are making people not talk to other people,” said one participant, a grad student. “It’s like the mobile phone becomes another organ to the human.”
The large events bring students out from behind the phones. In doing so, Porter said, they enable young people to “see each other face to face and look into each other’s eyes and realize the humanity of another person and reconnect.”
The second obstacle: polarization. To break down division between ethnic, spiritual, and ideological groups, the Peacemakers host a series of podcasts. Each is designed to help students “get back to a place where we can accept each other for who we are,” according to an undergrad participant.
The third obstacle: Loneliness and lack of purpose. The answer: action.
“We do service projects because action and movement together bring hearts together,” said Porter.
The Coalition’s goal is to help young people rediscover their own faith and spirituality, while providing them with the peacemaking tools they need to sustain peaceful dialogue and social engagement. In the process, they hope to enable this generation to break down silos and help a future society flourish, starting with a new peace movement today.
