News

OSMC Mulls Young Americans' Negative View of Church, Media

January 12, 2016

A new report by the Pew Research Center reveals an alarming dip in Millennials’ positive view of both churches and news media.

According to the survey released Monday, only 55 percent of Americans aged 18-34 say churches and religious organizations have a positive effect on the way things are going in their country today. That represents a huge drop from five years ago in 2010, when 73 percent of Millennials held the same view.

The younger generation isn’t keen on the media either. While 40 percent of Millennials in 2010 said the national news media was having a positive impact in the country, only 27 percent today hold the same belief.

The Pew survey was conducted Aug. 27-Oct. 4, 2015. Americans of various generations were asked about their views on a number of institutions, including colleges, large corporations, entertainment industry, technology companies and banks.

Among the 10 institutions, the media received the worst ratings overall with only about a quarter from each generation (Millennial, Gen X, Boomer, Silent) saying it has a positive effect in America.

While a majority of Americans hold a positive view of churches and religious organizations, Millennials have gone from being the most likely to the least likely among the generations to rate religious organizations positively.

The findings reinforce the need for Olivet School of Media and Communication to train more biblical men and women to become media professionals who can make a positive impact in the world.

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