Increasingly, young people are disaffiliating from organised religion. The rise of the 'nones' (i.e., those with no religious affiliation) suggests that young people are looking elsewhere to find deep meaning and inspiration in their lives. Where are they looking? And, more specifically, who are they looking up to?
This project explore the types of religious and spiritual role models that young people have. Are their role models anything like the saints and sages of old? To identify these exemplars, the project uses an innovative qualitative research method -- story completion -- to generate data from participants in a safe, fun, and engaging way. Moreover, participants will be invited to offer feedback on the project's ongoing analysis. Participants themselves will play a meaningful role in the interpretation of their data.
This project is led by Dr Edward David, our former McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Christian Ethics and Public Life.
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The research focuses on individuals aged 18 to 27, employing an innovative story completion method. This approach allows participants to express their religious views and role models through a third-person narrative, providing a safe and engaging way to gather data. This method is particularly effective given the sensitive nature of religious topics and past ethical issues in religious organisations.
Participants will be asked to respond to a story completion prompt by writing a story of approximately 200 words. Following this, participants will have the option to complete a questionnaire. Both parts should take about 30 minutes, and no background knowledge is required. This data will be analysed by the principal and co-investigators, along with research assistants.
Ethics Approval Reference: R92213/RE001
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For more details, please reach out to us at GenZ@theology.ox.ac.uk. We're excited to hear from you and to include your voice in this important conversation.
