Young Adults and UUism
The late Eighties and early Nineties brought a lot of talk about young adults (those aged 18-35) and their needs in the greater Unitarian Universalist (UU) community. Even before the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was established, considerable research was done to establish programming for college-aged UUs.That work faltered in the Seventies and early Eighties, however, causing a 12 percent drop in young adult UUs. It’s not a surprising statistic when you consider that today only about 5 percent of UU congregations have programming for young adults. Many of the troubles that young adults face in the world of UUism are not solely because our congregations haven’t gotten involved. The fluidity of life as a young adult has hindered the development of any programming. It is a process of searching for self. It is this lack of Religious Education programs, conferences, and peer groups that cause almost 95 percent of UUs to drop out of the church and district during their college and young adult years. However, we have begun to take control of our religious faith by asserting our needs and finding people and programming that satisfy those needs. Serving the needs of UU young adults has been a struggle that the youth and adults in our churches and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) have been wrestling with for years. Now, with the Young Adult/Campus Ministries (YA/CMs) offices at the UUA, the Continental UU Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN), and dedicated YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) high school graduates, the future looks bright. More and more YRUUers are entering the young adult world with the energy and motivation to increase involvement and accessibility. Remember, the very principles the UU faith is based upon dictate that no one should be excluded from participating in activities billed as UU. We encourage including non-UUs in all your plans. We are not an evangelical faith. We want to provide all people a non-threatening environment to think about liberal, tough, and emotional issues. Each person should have plenty of room to define their self and their personal theology. As you read this packet, keep in mind the struggle that UUs are going through to keep young adults a viable, enthusiastic part of the church. Keep the faith.
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
