In June 2008 the Bertelsmann Foundation announced the results of their survey on religious belief amongst young people.

The survey found that 85% of young people aged between 18 and 29 in the world are religious. Religious beliefs amongst young people are most common in Islamic societies and developing countries. Amongst industrialised countries, religion scores very well in the south of the United States. In Europe, however, religion fared less well. In Russia and France for instance, over 50% of young people do not care for religion or spirituality.

Is it becoming “cool” to be religious? Do you believe religion should be actively promoted? What about a new study that appeared shortly after the publication of the Bertelsmann survey results, suggesting that there exists a direct correlation between intelligence and religiosity?

Do you believe that religious conviction is on the increase amongst young people worldwide?

Different trends seem to be happening at the same time. Whereas, for instance, an increasing number of young people in Europe decide to do the pilgrimage by foot to Santiago de Compostela, not for religious reasons but out of a sense for adventure and sport…

… at the same time, there are movements in the United States that are actively promoting “cool” religion in order to appeal to young people.

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Religion has stepped out of its fundamental framework

Religion has been so often discussed and manipulated recently that it is impossible not to wonder about the purpose of religion nowadays. It seems that religion has stepped out of its fundamental framework loosing its purpose to lead us in order to live this life in the most righteous way. On the one hand there are those living quite extreme religious life while on the other hand there are those who totally neglect their religion. I think that it is crucial that we think about the purpose and meaning of religion and spiritual guidance. “Cool religion” does not fit in any religions concept or purpose and practicing or promoting religion for any other reason than its most basic purpose is worse than neglecting it. Tatjana Slijepcevic, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Religions should unite people and not divide them...

Living in the UK for almost a year I have not realised any tendency among the young people from different ethnic or national origins to become more religious or to display their belief through religious symbols in public. On the other hand, there has been a strong inclination in the Turkish society to use and make religious symbols more visible in their daily lives during the recent years. In my opinion, the main mission of all religions should be to unite people and not to divide them. As Roman Philosopher Augustine indicates “A people is a congregation of many rational beings united in a harmonious community concerning things they hold dear.” However, in Turkey religious symbols have been used (or abused) to divide the nation into two although almost the whole nation (approximately 98%) believes in one religion, which is Islam. The most striking example of such abuse is the headscarf issue. I have not been able to find any direct order forcing women to wear a headscarf in the Koran. But in Turkey more and more women have started wearing headscarf in a certain style, which is not a traditional way of covering a head and thus it is nothing to do with Turkish tradition. The real motivation behind the recent trend of wearing headscarf by women in Turkey is certainly not their religious belief (as they could have not discovered a new rule in Islam all of a sudden) but some other political or social reasons. Once again, women are used by their fathers, brothers or husbands as a tool to gain or sustain their authority above the opposite gender and to achieve their political or economic aims. On the other hand, secular-republican Turkish women (and men as well), who believe that religion should remain in the heart and conscience of an individual, are quite disturbed by these developments in society. Categorising people as religious and non-religious according to their dressing style is against the values of Turkish People who once made an example of high tolerance for all religions, life styles and opinions during the Ottoman Empire period and the first 80 years of the Turkish Republic. In societies where people cannot use their own will to decide what to believe or not, the religion loses its essence and transforms itself into something formal. That is why we need secularism and democracy to be able to make right choices in our lives and express ourselves as human beings, which is the only bound that will unite us all at the end of the day. Feyza Basar, Turkey

"Maybe it's not true but i believe in it!".

Religion: the hardest topic ever in human history. Faith: weakness or strength? Faith: a need of help or something we do as a family tradition? God: how many names does he have?

Since his first appearance on the earth, the human being has always asked himself about his existence, about his life, about WHO created him. Some psychologists think that the human kind created a figure called "God”, who was, is (and maybe will be?) the creator of life. In different places of the world, every people created their own God, calling him with different names: Christ, Buddha, Confucius and so on.

What's sure is that the human being needs to believe in something. With the experience, every one of us can decide about his/her own religious convictions. But how does it work for young people?

Do I believe religious conviction is on the increase amongst young people worldwide? Good question! Personally, I believe that the world is so huge that the statistics are not exact. I believe that the religious beliefs today are different from the previous ones: today there is the religion of money, success, fame. You can believe in values as well as in God. I believe that since the human being always feels alone in the world, he needs to believe in something more, something transcendental; among young people there is still the desire of believe in somebody or something. That’s why there are new sects like Scientology, which counts millions of believers. Nevertheless, I also think that parents around the world want to give to their children something in which to believe; the most popular religions such as Christianity and Islam build in each person a strong religious conviction since a very young age.

I think that in a world so full of corruption, consumerism and perdition, young people are searching for answers. And religion provides them. Chiara Palieri, Italy 

"It should stay in one's own personal sphere"

If one would try to define religion, it wouldn't be possible to do it in a unique way because a unique definition of religion does not exist. In my opinion it is very easy to explain why. On the one hand, there are so many different religions in the world today, and on the other hand, what is even more important, there is the fact that religion is a private matter of each individual. Religion is assumed to be a connection between the human being and something higher and transcendent (mostly called god) which does include some group rituals, but in the first place includes one's personal conviction and feelings. Therefore I don’t think religion should be considered in the context of being “cool”. And if there is a trend to become religious in order to become cool, then that trend is wrong and it only represents the misuse of religion.

I would also agree with previous comments that religion provides needed answers and is therefore considered to be necessary in one’s life. But then again I would also like to add that those answers should not be imposed, but looked for and found on one’s own initiative. For that reason I don’t believe religion should be actively promoted. In my opinion, it is and it should stay in one’s own personal sphere. Selma Mezetovic, Bosnia & Herzegovina

"Religion has always been a crucial element in everyone’s life all over the centuries"

Christians’ God, Allah, Buddha or Brahma? Trying to find the real God is like searching for the real air to breath: in India, in China, in Arabia or in Europe?
In today’s world it is sometimes difficult to tear down the barriers that have been built between you and the others. Faith is the perfect way to reach peace and personal accomplishment, faith makes you stronger and gives you the power to step up against discrimination and to fight for your natural rights.
Religion has always been a crucial element in everyone’s life all over the centuries. Nowadays we can assist in a great exposure of religious convictions that are the result of long histories, wars and cultures. That’s why I strongly believe that most young people’s religious convictions are determined by social and political circumstances. Societies have been dominated by lots of cultures and religions and today’s world appears in front of the youngsters as a tradition that they have to admit and obey. It’s natural to have the same religious conviction as their ancestors but it’s also true that they have the liberty to change it.
There are countries where religion is very important and it’s like a tradition amongst young people, so they consider faith crucial for the community life, but there are others who are not so concerned about it and prefer to keep themselves apart from the religious spirit. This can be explained by personal choice but also by the tradition of the country regarding the religious conviction, the history and the mentalities.
Personally, I believe that God’s presence in one’s life is not as we notice a flower or a child, but our own way of receiving its perfume and feeling the peace and the joy from the child’s eyes. I will be very happy to find out that religion is for most of young people a starting point in every day’s thoughts because we live in a world that needs to be guided by a strong and peaceful generation to face all today’s problems and provocations.
Anyway, religious conviction is a question of personal choice and a controversial matter of discussion for some people. If we believe or not in God, for whatever might be the reasons, personal, social or historical, religious conviction is our feeling, it’s what our mind and soul have created together; it’s incredibly us… Liana Ionita, Romania

"not only the way of returning to the roots but also the way to stand against a cynical regime"

The questions that are put in the title are rather complicated as the young generation differs not only between countries but also within countries. What is the common thing is that young years are the years when one attempts to find answers to so many questions… And especially to the main one: ‘Who am I?’
There are two ways to find the answer. To be different. Or to be the same.
The main point about the European generation is that it has the choice: to be or not to be. In some other regions young people do not have the choice. Religion is given to them and they do not have any alternative.
Europeans do. Moreover they can choose between religions. Want to be ‘cool’? Ok, there are some exotic religions. Want to be ‘good girl/boy’? No problem! Church on Sundays is waiting for you.
Young people in Belarus are in a slightly different situation. The generation of our parents was deprived of religion, it was forbidden during the Soviet Union times. Language and authentic culture were also lost… That is why for the young Belarusians, there is not only the question ‘Who I am’ but also ‘Who we are’.
I cannot say that religion now is kind of fashion. But it is not bad to be religious. Anyway young people are looking for the way to follow. And today they face a huge stream of information, very often – aggressive information.
For young people in Belarus, religion often is not only the way of returning to the roots but also the way to stand against a cynical regime.
If young people understand that in religion the main point is love, I believe it is very positive to promote religion. But it is very important to leave room for choice. Darja Slabchanka, Belarus

"the way we think and see the world is absolutely different than two or three years ago"

I live in Latvia and we have economical crisis one after another. Year 2009 are ment to be one of the hardest ever. I couldnt say that i have seen greate religious changes, but i can definitely agree that the way we think and see the world is absolutely different than two or three years ago. Many people who have been basically religious but never went to the church now is doing it, because they need faith and support. People are scared and worried and have no clear image of their future. Talking about youth, nowadays it is nothing bad anymore to go to church. No one is going to lough of you if you have decided to go what was much different some years ago. I don't agree it is getting „popular”, i would say it is getting more acceptable. If so many things are breaking down we dont have time to think of „what others will think about me!”. Laura Kraukle, Latvia

"we should also consider the type of religion that is most popular to young people"

First of all, in order to answer to this question we should separate the cultures and societies in which religions thrive. As the survey has showed, the people who are most religious are basically found in South Asia, parts of USA and eastern societies. The reason for this is that in those societies, Islamic or Buddhist religions are more apparent. More than others, such religions tend to promote union and bonding in families. Society and culture in these places encourage young people to be religious. On the other hand, western societies tend to be more relaxed and open to new ideas: it is not a coincidence that many new parents in these regions tend to let their children choose the religion they want on their own. In other words we should also consider the type of religion that is most popular to young people.  However we need to keep in mind the fact that not all religious members are active members and thus religion plays a different roll in each society.
Last but not least, we still cannot be certain of the correlation between intelligence and religiosity. However, an explanation for this could be that as people grow up and broaden their minds, are open to new ideas and are creative, they tend to become more intelligent. Irene Schinaraki, Greece

"everything "cool" and trendy is superficial and very temporary"

I think, in general –yes, religious conviction is on increase amongst the young people worldwide and the Bertelsmann survey results clearly indicate that too. However, the trends and degrees of religious belief differ across the countries in the world. In Armenia- a small developing country in the South Caucasus, these trends differ even within the country. Having returned their religious traditions after the collapse of the soviet regime when religion was banned and churches closed, Armenian people and especially the younger generation rushed to revive religious culture and the traditions of Christianity and the Armenian Apostolic Church that celebrated its 1707th anniversary this year. Being religious was considered to be "right" and patriotic. Today, after almost two decades of freedom of religion, the picture is a bit different and there is a difference between religiousness (or at least its manifestation) of the young people from smaller and rural communities and that of the young people living in the capital city of Yerevan. Reflecting the global trends- the youth seems to be more religious in the smaller, rural, and less well-off communities as opposed to the capital where the youth has more opportunities to engage in a variety of activities, studies, trainings, cultural events, etc. This also in a way reflects the Bertelsmann survey results, implying that there exists a certain correlation between intelligence and religiosity. It's natural that educated people are likely to scrutinize everything and think critically, choose and accept what makes more sense to them, and not blindly follow what they are told to, and therefore they might seem to be less religious. However, here I would suggest to consider the difference between 'believing in God', being religious and practicing religion. In some societies religion is imposed on people as a norm of life and even questioning it would mean dishonoring one's own family, roots and origin. In such societies people might practice religion not because they 'believe' but because they have to do so as it is 'the right thing' and not doing so would put them out of their families and social networks. And in many cases, people might say they are not religious and might not practice religion (e.g. go to Church, pray, observe the religious rituals, holidays, etc) but believe in God and be religious in their souls – without confessing it to anyone else. I fully agree with the comments posted above, that religion is very personal, and it must not be imposed on people, neither should it be used as a façade. I think a person should be free to choose the religion and ideology that is closer to his/her value system. As to the "cool" religion, in my view, as everything "cool" and trendy it's superficial and very temporary, and even if the young people decide to 'go with the wave' and follow it, soon they will start questioning things and realizing what works for them and what doesn't- eventually, religion should be about love and positive energy and not sow discord or hatred... Personally, I think that religion is very important in our world; it guides us throughout our lives and helps to fulfill our spiritual needs. Gayane Sargsyan, Armenia

I want to point out the existent vacuum in the space of spirituality

I think this study is taking a naive approach to address such an issue as relationship between IQ (as mark of intelligence) and religiosity (in the face of spirituality). It is just a PCA analysis on statistical data to derive correlation, just naive. Second, IQ is far from personal intelligence meter. However, religion and spirituality is something I would like to focus on. Not only I do not believe there is massive religious growth among the youth, but there is a total abolishment of the notion. The atheist church is the fastest growing church in the west. You might say there is a distinct line between religion and the body of the church. Yes, but all I want to point out is the existent vacuum in the space of spirituality. A vacuum is eventually filled in. And I wish there were a broad discussion among young people about spirituality, not religion. Petar Petrov, Bulgaria