Friday, May 27, 2011

What most Adventist young people think about traditional Adventist standards

According to the Center for Youth Evangelism, 783 young adults were asked if they agreed or disagreed with 10 standards "generally thought to be held by Seventh-day Adventists."

Here's what they found:

Standard Agree Disagree
1. Not use illegal drugs 93% 5%
2. Not use tobacco 92% 4%
3. Keep the Sabbath holy 88% 4%
4. Not drink alcoholic beverages 77% 15%
5. Dress modestly 75% 12%
6. Sex should occur only within marriage 74% 14%
7. Not wear cosmetic jewelery 33% 49%
8. Not listen to rock music 32% 49%
9. Not dance 22% 60%
10. Not attend movie theaters 16% 71%

Suggestions from the Center for Youth Evangelism:

"If these last four standards really do have a Biblical base, and if they continue to be relevant to Adventism, then the church, and especially youth ministries leaders, will need to find ways through study and dialogue to lead to a commitment on the part of young adults to these standards. Otherwise, they should be removed from the list, for standards that are proclaimed but not practiced only lead to charges of hypocrisy."

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3 comments:

James Alchemist said...

While I wasn't surprised about the last 4 questions, the others worry me especially the alcoholic drinks and the sex only in marriage. While I'm not naive to think that these things don't happen in "Adventist" circles, I'm really amazed that people actually disagree with them.

I'd like to know why they think those things are ok. Being Adventist from birth!, I've seen a lot of change, and a lot of things you could argue back and forth about but some things (i thought) were just no argument areas!

Anonymous said...

This does not depict the true picture of adventists youth throughout the world. If you take into account the youth from Asia, or any underdeveloped countries you will have a different picture which tends to fall into being conservative.

Anonymous said...

I see it begins to break down at item 4 and substantially breaks down at item 7. It's possible that the wavering at drinking comes from implications that wine at least may not have been completely off limits in the Bible and some think prohibiting it as expanding on the Bible. In regard to modesty it's likely youth might simply disagree with older persons definition of modesty. After all, some cultures consider showing the face as immodest. Youth may consider banning premarital sex as hypocritical since divorce is even more common among Christians than otherwise. And of course young people marry at at older age than in the past so this has its side effects.

These results may not be a clear cut as they might appear. I would suggest that open ended questioning might have gotten a different result although harder of course to analyze. And yes, outside the USA we might see different results but within the USA the native response has meaning for Americans.

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Unlike other websites, A Sabbath Blog is not a place for adults to argue back and forth about theology, church politics, or gossip. Please understand that this website is made by youth for other youth and young adults to enjoy without having resentful people posting confusing or misleading comments. Thank you.

Comments submitted that do not meet these ground rules will not be published.

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Note: Comments expressed are those of the comment author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of A Sabbath Blog.

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