The Atlantic: Millennials' Political Views Don't Make Any Sense
On a related note, and at the risk of getting hammered by colleagues, it is not very original for me to note that when Confirmation was a rite of passage at the opening of one's teenage years, it enabled a greater foundation for the spirituality of burgeoning adults. When it was no longer emphasized for thirteen-year-olds it lost its reason for being and became a sacrament in search of a theology,
I know there are some hard-wrought theological reasons for this change; theology is a convenient tool for rationalization. The main reason, though, is because too many clergy found that age group unruly and difficult to reach. At least, that's what was said behind closed doors. It's much easier to sit in an office and pretend one is an academic/therapist/social justice warrior than do the unforgiving bits of our professional work, but it would have saved us from now trying to come to grips with a "lost generation" of believers.
This has been my lecture theme for at least the past sixteen years, and wildly ignored by the American Episcopal Church, as the preferred narrative feeds mightily into the contemporary Protestant delusion. However, I'm pleased to note that the Presbyterian Church in the US and Scotland [!] and the Anglican Church in Australia are beginning to make changes in this regard.