The sample of respondents ranged from those who practice regularly to those with occasional contact with the Church.
The Swiss sociologist observed that young people have become demanding of the Church in terms of faith teaching and liturgy and no longer hesitate to openly criticize the Church when they feel it does not sufficiently consider their requests.
The Catholic Church has been losing credibility for the past 30 years: young people place greater value on a personal journey of faith, which they consider authentic. They don't wait for the institution to define religion when it doesn't correspond to their path.
Isabelle Jonveaux has observed among young people, with little or no religious socialization, a concern about what God thinks of their behavior, whether in the areas of sexuality or spirituality. "I've even noted in some a fear of finding themselves damned." During difficult times, the more the young person claims to have a relationship with God or a higher being, the more the use of prayer or meditation will play an important role.
Parish Life
Alongside pilgrimages to Lourdes, Medjugorje, Rome, or Jerusalem, Mass remains very popular. For some, the spiritual experience must be shared, whether it be Mass or pilgrimages and major events of faith. Others have expectations of their parish and are often disappointed that it doesn't offer them what they would like to find there.
Young people have high quality standards for parish activities—the explanation of Mass, theology—and expect priests to take their requests into account. Most clearly express these expectations and demand a level of aesthetic quality in the liturgy or in terms of doctrinal content. The young people surveyed have real questions and expect the Church to be consistent with what she proclaims.
They do not hesitate to challenge priests about what they read in the Bible. These young Catholics question the institution more directly. They are aware that they are a minority and expect the Church to be grateful for their presence: "It's not easy as a young person to go to Mass instead of soccer."
The Expectation of a Clear Framework
For the most religious young people, the blessing granted to same-sex couples is questioned, but disagreements with the Church rarely represent a cause of distance for these Catholics, who demonstrate deep loyalty.
The issue of migration is unclear. Regarding ecology, young people don't think of the Church first. They expect the Church's "core business," which is spiritual or possibly ethical, to be their primary focus. Some want to see the Church reposition herself in society, where they feel everything is drifting, including the institution. They need to recreate a clear framework within which they know how to think. "Currently," they say, "everything is relative in society."
The Swiss sociologist says she has noticed a loss of the sense of ritual, particularly among young people who go to Mass and are bored, lacking knowledge of the ritual, and who would like to understand what happens during the celebration. Why do they make this or that gesture during Mass? What does it mean?
A survey in the United States showed that young men now practice more than young women, as did young French-speaking Swiss who responded to the Swiss questionnaire.
In Search of the Content of Faith
The Church has tended to believe that the content of catechesis and offerings in general should be simplified because young people were less socialized and had not received the faith within the family.
This is leading to a demand for quality on their part today, explains the Swiss Institute of Pastoral Sociology. They ask themselves many existential questions and, with regard to what the Church offers them, they have high theological standards, which the institution must take into account.
They want the Church to help them live their status as young believers in today's society. Some experience being young and believers as a disconnect. "One of them told me that it was complicated to be young, a believer, and a practicing Christian," notes Isabelle Jonveaux. "They expect the Church to help them resolve this tension.