Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Protestant Baby Boomers / Edition 1

by Dean R. Hoge, Benton Johnson, Donald A. Luidens

Overview

This in-depth survey provides a vivid overview of the religious world of the Baby Boomers. The authors worked with a national sample of persons confirmed in the Presbyterian Church, examining the religious faith of Baby Boomers and exploring the reasons they gave for leaving or staying in the church. The authors identify eight types of young adults—half of them churched and the other half unchurched. Their findings provide some unexpected results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664254926
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	01/01/1994
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1280L (what's this?)

About the Author

Dean R. Hoge is Professor of Sociology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is the coauthor of Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Mainline Protestant Baby Boomers.

Brenton Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

Donald A. Luidens is Professor of Sociology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He is coeditor of Reformed Encounters with Modernity: Perspectives from Three Continents.

Editorial Reviews

Based on a survey of some 500 respondents and 40 in-depth interviews, this work examines the religious motivation of baby boomers. The authors, who are sociology professors belonging to different denominations, are most interested in the causes for the decline in mainline Protestant church membership since the Sixties. The survey is based on a nationwide selection of persons confirmed in Presbyterian churches who were between 33 and 42 years old in 1989. Four ``churched'' and four ``unchurched'' types are identified, and both representative interviews and statistical analysis provided. The authors present some new theories about membership decline and spotlight what people of this generation want in a church. A fascinating and potentially useful study; recommended for public and academic libraries.-- C. Robert Nixon, MLS, Lafayette, Ind.

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