THE MAJORITY of Generation X Latinos perceive that our faith sects (both Catholic and Protestant) have little to say about the issues that affect us most: technology-induced future shock, a national debt as frightening as a velociraptor, AIDS, and (perhaps most important) race and identity. What better way to explain the phenomenon of countless young Latinos leaving—in their own words, escaping—our religious institutions?
In San Antonio, it’s reported that 3 percent of Catholic youth attend Mass every Sunday. Chicago Protestant pastors describe a local example of a national phenomenon: young people raised in Latino congregations leaving for Anglo-dominated superchurches or just dropping the faith altogether. In Los Angeles, Christian leaders report youth active in lowrider car and bicycle clubs, Quebradita and rap crews ... but not in church.
This is tragic, because my generation needs to hear a biblical message: that God considers all that we are—including our race, culture, gender, economic status—to be valuable. But since my generation does not access the resources of the Bible-believing church, we search for identity and racial validation elsewhere... Old racial divisions and terminology are dying. We need new words, new models, new dreams, to help us live in a new world... But will the church be able to communicate this to us?
This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared in the November 1994 issue of Sojourners. Read the full article here.
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