What it means for teens and young adults to explore and experience sacred moments
Young people, ages 13-25, experience sacred moments that they say make life more meaningful.
In 2023, Springtide Research Institute surveyed more than 4,500 young people and interviewed dozens in-depth to better understand what young people know about the sacred — including where, if anywhere, they experience the sacred; what those encounters are like; how they feel and how they impact the lives of young people, if at all. The findings support an approach faith leaders and other trusted adults can employ to help youth people see, appreciate, and respond to the sacred in everyday life.
Three Key Findings
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Most young people say that they have experienced a sacred moment.
Sacred moments happen for a wide variety of young people, including those who are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, Jewish, and nothing in particular. Young people experience these moments in nature, at home, in religious spaces, and beyond.
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For young people, sacred moments are personal, relational, and extraordinary.
Young people describe sacred moments as interrupting daily life—moments that are characterized by truth, wonder, awe, gratitude, and a sense of interconnectedness.
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Sacred moments can happen online.
About one-fourth of young people say they have experienced a sacred moment more than once while online. There is no specific religious affiliation whose members experience sacred moments online more often than any other. Of those who say they have experienced more than one sacred moment online, 86% report some sort of religious upbringing.
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Sacred Moments improve wellbeing by offering direction, a sense of meaning, and a deep sense of peace.
Young people who identify as at least slightly religious score higher than their nonreligious counterparts on experiencing a sense of belonging, feeling that the things they do in life are worthwhile, and knowing they’re fully understood by at least one person in their life, and more. (graph on page 31)
You can purchase and access the full report, The State of Religion & Young People 2023: Exploring the Sacred here.
