Week 8 - The Spirit of Generation Y - Gen Kennedy

Critical Summary of Article:
‘The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People’s Spirituality in a Changing Australia.’

Mason, M, Singleton, A & Webber, R 2007, The Spirit of Generation Y, Melbourne.
‘The Spirit of Generation Y’ was a joint project between Monash University and Australian Catholic University, which lasted three years and surveyed over 1600 people. The study was, in the first year, made up of around 100 intensive interviews to gain an idea of contexts and reasons for or against beliefs. In the second year of the study, 1619 people were surveyed about their beliefs.

The project aimed to study holistic spirituality, rather than simply religious beliefs or practices. This included New Age beliefs, worldviews, ethos, ‘civic orientation’ and influences. The worldviews of the interviewees were placed into one of three different categories – Traditional, Eclectic or Humanist. Interviewees’ civic orientation and knowledge of the world were also placed on a sliding scale. A qualitative part of the project, it was noted by Webber that, “it was not our aim to profile the population, or to describe typical cases, but to explore in depth a selection of cases chosen to manifest the range and variations of spirituality.” (2004, p.4) Five interviews, presenting a cross section of spiritualities were included at length in the paper. While interviewers’ questions were open and probing, they were highly varied in each interview, which may have made subjects less comparable.

The analysis of interviews is, in some cases, quite patronising towards the subjects, and critical of gaps in their worldviews. However, the range of questions and statements presented in the second phase of the project (surveys to 1619 people) were effective and offered valuable insight into the religious and spiritual trends of Generation Y. This included a drift in Generation Y away from religion. More surprisingly however, youth are not replacing religious beliefs with New Age practices, instead moving towards an entirely secular lifestyle. While there were some flaws in the analysis of data recorded, ‘The Spirit of Generation Y’ used effective research methods, and were successful in presenting a balanced picture of the spirituality of this generation.