I have the advantage of living in a religious house that subscribes to America, so I can let you know a bit about the article. You'll need to find a paper copy to read the whole thing.
The article begins with the perennial question:
Why aren’t young men and women entering religious life today?The irony bit is because of reason #4:
4. Young adults live in a media world unfamiliar to most priests and religious. DVD’s, Facebook, Myspace, Halo 3, Wii, cell phones, Madden football—these are the constant companions of young adults, as familiar to them as Notre Dame football, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” and foreign missionaries were to Catholics of the 1950s and 1960s. When we tell a young person we do not know how to take a picture with a cell phone, we are communicating not only that we are “out of it,” but that we fall on the spectrum somewhere between imbecilic and incompetent.Hence, if you want young folks to enter this discussion, you'd want to post the article for free online so everyone could read it. But hey, what do I know??? I'm only a young adult for another 24 days (when I enter the dreaded "36-50" demographic category).
Ok, semi-rant over! I'm happy to report that the author, a Jesuit named Richard Malloy, does make a number of points which I think make a lot of sense. His 2nd reason for example:
Check. That list is a pretty good start I think of the realities facing folks who are crazy enough to consider this wonderful way of life these days. The particular challenge is in working with formation personnel who are at various stages of awareness of the fact that it's different than leaving your parents home at 18 and entering the convent. I've had some struggles with this, and have documented some of them here - read this post for an example.2. In the past one entered a novitiate with people who were culturally similar and found the process easy. ... Most people thinking of entering religious life today are much older than in previous eras; they are of various ages, and as a group they are more diverse. They are concerned about what will happen to their 401(k) account, cell phone contract, apartment lease, car, dog and more. To enter a novitiate, they are being asked to break off a set of adult relationships and responsibilities that might be five, 10 or 15 years old.
It's also true that novitiate groups today are very diverse. For example, we have one woman in her 20's from Kenya who is a student. One American woman in her 30's who worked as an elections administrator (moi). One American woman in her 50's who is a very well respected nurse. We have a woman entering next year who is a medical professional (I think she's in her 40's) from Korea. So yes, it's very diverse. In general, I think this is a good thing though, and probably actually attractive to most folks thinking of entering. Yes it's challenging in terms of daily living, but I think that younger people are more excited about our global reality.
In my experience a big part of the challenge here is more in terms of formation programs learning how to celebrate the gift of diversity among us. This relates to the author's point about how we no longer have homogeneous novitiate programs. Again though, there are varying levels of awareness. As a younger person in religious life, I think it's hard to feel like you're always "pushing the envelope". At a certain point you want it to be easier. But if I want to be treated like an adult, than I think that probably means some amount of living with the tension and helping the community to grow and learn. (This paragraph probably makes more sense to the younger religious and especially those in formation reading this.)
His other reasons are very interesting and thought provoking. It would be worth getting a copy if you're thinking of religious life or are already in religious life.
I must say that I'm happy the author ended on this note:
Nonetheless, there is some hope.I don't know if I agree with his reasons for finding hope, but there is hope to be found nonetheless. Just take a look at the poll results to date for this little corner of the blogosphere! Not to mention the folks who flock to my friend Julie's blog. And the two of us blogging nuns aren't even officially in the vocation business!
Ok, random thoughts over for the evening. I'd love to hear what you all think (especially if you happen to have a copy of America lying around)!
12 comments:
Maybe I'm starting to get old and cranky at the ripe old age of 33, but the generations after mine were raised very differently. For better or for worse, they were raised as the center of their parents' universes (as children should be, to an extent), and those parents were clingier than parents in the past have been. I think that style of childrearing is very different than the kind of life as oblation that one finds in religious life. (both regular and third order/lay association.)
And on the other side of the spectrum, you've got those who'll only consider "orthodox" orders, namely ones with a habit. Call me crazy, but when I was considering religious life, what they wore was the least of my concerns. (Although I was considering orders that mostly did wear some sort of habit.)
Thanks for bringing this article to my attention--I will have to look for it.
I agree with much of what you said--that our concerns are different, particularly that we have attachments from living as adults for years or decades. I think in some ways this is good, because most of us don't enter directly from our parents' homes, I think we probably have a better sense of who we are and what we expect to gain from and contribute to religious life.
I haven't even been accepted to the order yet (thought I'm working on it!), but I've already seen some of the formation concerns. In my case, I am a theologian with a strong background (a phd) in theology, so one of my concerns has been about what courses I will take and who formation will "look like." I want to be formed well, but I also don't want to take classes that I have taught! But other concerns are professional--I love what I do (teaching at college level), and it is part of my vocation also. So how are we (me and the formation team) going to work together so that I am contributing to the congregation in such a way that promotes that professional ministry?
I know that sounds in some ways that I am inflexible, but I really am open to other things. I just want to know that my voice is heard.
One last thing: I chose the RSCJ in part because they are an international order. That is very exciting to me. I have already met sisters from around the world, and it is so thrilling to see how the order's charism takes root in cultures so different from ours. It also gives me hope, because there are more women entering around the world than there are in North America and Europe.
Thanks again for your comments!
S.D.
Having a job at a university populated by "traditionally aged" post-high-school students has made me question the value of having ANY sort of formation -- religious or otherwise -- in such an age-segregated environment. Students' immediate concerns (relationships, popularity, passing a test) loom as overwhelming because they have no close available role models to show them the different concerns they will have at different stages of their lives. It's very difficult for them to see the big picture. And in such a homogeneous group, it's very difficult for them to think of situations and contexts that might challenge the ideas they are grappling with in the classroom.
I wonder if the same criticism might be leveled at old-school religious formation.
Also, as someone who gets a lot of my religious thought from blogs, I am bemused by America's notion that religion is not available through new media. I find it's not easily available through OLD media. Or -- frankly -- through the sort of loosely organized apathetic parishes to which I'm accustomed.
Finally, I'm not sure what I think about his camera phone example. In the dark ages, when I was a teenager, I can remember youth group leaders who would try the "God is cool! That Mr. Mister song is talking about God!" approach. Even then that sort of thing made me sceptical. I wanted God to be bigger and of an entirely different quality than a pop song. I suspect that young people today are looking for a relationship with God that is quite different from operating a camera phone.
Great post Susan,
although as a non-american I wish I could access the article online since no one here subscribes to the magazine... maybe it'll be republished here though.
As a novice experiencing the tensions of all of this I think it's great to have the discussion. Tough for me to say much though because I just want to scream and say "hello! I'm a grown up! would you people just get your acts together already!?"
Susan, thanks for posting on this article and for your insights. There's so much going on in this article. As a person in their later 30s (it's not that bad being 36!), I realize that while considered one of the youngest in our IHM Congregation, I'm actually considered "older" by the younger generation. And I notice the differences though I do try to keep up with what younger people are interested in and with their cares and concerns. (And though not many religious are on Facebook, as the author noted, you and I are certainly there!) It's a weird place to be considered both very young and a generation older.
Your comment about being a younger person in religious life was very insightful ... "As a younger person in religious life, I think it's hard to feel like you're always "pushing the envelope". At a certain point you want it to be easier. But if I want to be treated like an adult, than I think that probably means some amount of living with the tension and helping the community to grow and learn." Being a part of a religious community means -- being in community. I remember struggling with trying to live a 60-year-old's way of religious life because I didn't really know how to do it as a 20-30 year-old. I also want to be a community woman (a great phrase I learned from the IHMs), someone who puts the community, not me, first. At the same time, I wanted to be respected for having life experience, professional experience, relationships, indeed, a relationship with God already! Maybe not as long as sisters in my community, but for me it was as long as my whole life! Part of adulthood, as you noted, is being able to live into this tension and not abandon one or the other -- we can be young women and adult religious.
So much more I could go on about, but I'll leave that for my morning meditation. God is such a good listener!
There's certainly something going on with the RCC! It will be interesting to see where the Spirit leads us to next, but religious orders do seem to be in a bit of flux at the moment...
Thanks for the discussion...lots to think about...
I wonder if we don't sometimes put our younger candidates in a "double-bind" - not fully recognizing the degree of autonomy they have achieved in not entering right out of high school, yet somehow expecting 20-somethings to act with the wisdom and maturity that rarely comes before the 40's.
We have been accepting older women into our congregations, and I think that is great - don't get me wrong. But I think we need to not lose touch with what it was like to be in our 20's and 30's, and allow our younger members to act in age-appropriate ways.
Amen and amen, Sandy.
Sandy - your comment reminded me of something one of our Sisters (who I lived with during my ministry experience) said to me.
On the one hand the community experiences me/other newer members as mature young women who may have had professionally lives and a deep spiritual life.
But the flip side of that is that they can then expect these newer members to have the knowledge and experience that only comes from x number of years living religious life.
There's a potential to be treated like a child. But there's also a potential to be treated like you should already have the particular wisdom that comes from living the life.
There's so much here ... we've only scratched the surface. If you haven't stopped by Julie's blog yet, go read her "Letter to a Younger Religious".
Great conversation everyone!
Just a little side note...at an engineering education conference I attended a couple of weeks ago, a presenter did a live focus group with 12 undergrad engr. students for his session on "millennials". All of them had Facebook pages, but they weren't too keen on their profs being on Facebook.
I agree with the recent publication in the America magazine about religious life in the age of facebook. I sat and read the article clearly identifying with each point that was made. Being a young person in my mid 20's and also discerning a calling to religious life, I found it profound that someone who doesnt know me, could make a generalization about my generation. I believe that times have changed and there is much to say about the articles that are being printed in the America magazine. I agree with the blog and magazine and believe there is great hope for the Church and for religious life, we just have to be willing to change with times and still keep who we are and what God is calling us to do, the TOP priority!!
Joining the conversation late, but am very interested in this conversation. And I'm at a place in my life where I can return to the blogosphere with more regularity. (Yay!)
So, as a woman who was in her 30s in the formation years I agree with your analysis, Susan. And your questions. As a woman religious, now finally professed over five years (how the heck did that happen!) and in my 40s, I hope to be able to help my congregation in welcoming younger members and celebrating their age-appropriate differences.
No easy answers, of course, but we wouldn't be here if that's what we were looking for.
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