By: Kathy Bolano, Communications Intern
Nicholas G. Hahn III joined us for one of our Friends in Faith events at the Niagara office on Tuesday, February 24. During our lunch and learn Nicholas spoke about millennials and the church from the Catholic perspective.
As the editor of RealClearReligion.org, Nicholas’s background in Political Science and Catholic Studies gives him a unique perspective of the millennial generation. There has been a trend wherein millennials are leaving the church, and Hahn had some insights as to why younger people are leaving the church in increasingly large numbers.
First, he believes that the mainstream media plays a large role. He commented on how religious media coverage often misinforms and misrepresents basic facts about faiths, personas of religious leaders and general religious trends. Hahn enjoys his work at RealClearReligion.org because he can report about religion accurately and holistically.
Having grown up Catholic, he believes that the religious experience is a lifelong journey. Through formative moments with very little guidance–like going to college, entering the real world, etc.–Hahn noted that many people find solace in religion. Accordingly, formative experiences can lead people back to the Catholic church.
He also discussed how there has been more of a push from the church to lead with the beauty of Catholicism, as opposed to the doctrine, in order to help people return to the church. In other words, the church wants to remind everyone how beautiful the religion itself is, and then, knowing this, people can understand the doctrine.
The Niagara Foundation would like to thank Nicholas Hahn III for taking the time to talk to us in our round table discussion.