The Bishop of London has voiced concerns over the state of faith among younger generations in London at an interfaith discussion in the City last week.
The open discussion between the Rt Rev Richard Chartres and Rabbi Mark Winer, Senior Rabbi of the West London Synagogue, took place at The Tent venue within the St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace.
An intimate audience listened as both speakers presented their thoughts on the issue of faith among young people, looking particularly at how young people can appreciate their own faith traditions, how they can respect the faith traditions of others and how faith can be inherited by the younger generations.There is a lot of young adolescent enthusiasm but very often it comes as a response to identity confusion and identity shopping.
Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres
Bishop Chartres drew comparisons between the recently released Children of Men film and current society in Britain, referring to an "exhausted society".
The Bishop of London welcomed the results of a poll featured in a recent Economist article - "A New Jerusalem" - which showed that London had gone from being the worst region in Britain with regards the Christian practice of faith in 1979 to the best in all age categories today.
"But religion of what kind?" he challenged.
"There is a lot of young adolescent enthusiasm but very often it comes as a response to identity confusion and identity shopping," he said as he warned of a culturally impoverished and angry young generation.
The Bishop of London criticised the degree to which media and advertising was being targeted at youth and raising an entire generation of people who "are taught to crave".
He also criticised the imbalanced focus on measures that safeguarded against excessive discipline or physical punishment and abuse while the mental and spiritual welfare of young people was being completely neglected.
"We are careless about what goes into their minds," he said. "We mustn't touch their bodies but never mind what goes into their minds.
"A constant immersion in violence and titillation does have an effect."
He continued: "It is not a hopeless situation in London but what kind of religion?"
Bishop Chartres added that institutions that build "real trust", like the family, were decaying in Britain and children were spending less and less time eating together with the family, particularly with the older generations who could pass on their faith to the younger generations.
He warned that Christians communicated their own faith tradition more clearly they would soon see a generation of "culturally impoverished people...where your taste has become your divinity".
Rabbi Winer also criticised the "very sterile" way in which religious education was being taught to young people in schools, but didn't spare people of faith either as he criticised their failure to do their jobs in passing on their faith.
"We have allowed these secular gurus to come in and take over the areas that should be taken up by religion because we haven't done our job in teaching spirituality."
He praised St Ethelburga's for holding the open conversation in The Tent, which attracted people from all faith backgrounds to hear Bishop Chartres and Rabbi Winer speak on the issue of faith among younger generations last week.
"We need many, many more conversations like this," said Rabbi Winer.
Bishop Chartres was the driving force behind the construction of the St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace after an IRA bomb nearly destroyed the entire church in 1993.
The Tent is an interfaith venue within the grounds of St Ethelburga's in the heart of London's financial district and brings together members of various faiths to discuss faith-related issues and develop closer interfaith relations in an atmosphere of openness and mutual respect.
