A Study of the Religious Beliefs of American Youth

Research on the religious beliefs of youth began in the United States at the start of the 20th century. In 1906, scholars surveyed the religious life of students at 19 universities and Christian colleges in the American Midwest. To date, research in the field of American youth religious beliefs has become relatively mature. The changes and development of American youth religious beliefs are occurring under the dual influence of American social change and religious change, serving as a mirror for various social trends of thought and religious transformations. This article attempts to systematically review key studies on the state of religious beliefs among American youth, presenting some typical changes and developments, in order to provide reference and inspiration for related fields in China. Based on several classic studies, with the 1960s and the beginning of the 21st century as watersheds, the field in the United States can be divided into three stages.

关于青年的宗教信仰这一研究主题，20世纪初美国就开始了探索。1906年，就有学者以美国中西部19所大学和基督宗教学院为调查单位，考察大学生的宗教生活。截止今天，美国青年宗教信仰领域的研究已经发展得比较成熟。美国青年宗教信仰状况的变化、发展正处于美国的社会变迁和宗教变迁双重影响下，成为各种社会思潮和宗教变迁的一面镜子。本文尝试对美国青年宗教信仰状况的相关研究进行重点梳理，呈现美国青年宗教信仰的一些典型变化和发展，从而对我国相应领域有所借鉴和启发。依据几份经典研究，分别以20世纪60年代和进入21世纪为分水岭，可以将美国该领域分为三个阶段。

I. Before the 1960s: The Religious Attitudes of American Youth Continuously Weaken

一、20世纪60年代以前：美国青年的宗教态度持续减弱

Research on the religious beliefs of American youth has a long history and rich themes. Before the 1960s, research in this field was just beginning, consisting mostly of quantitative surveys and primarily descriptive statistics. The main research theme during this period was examining youth attitudes toward religion, analyzing religious change through these attitudes, or the impact of these attitudes on youth behavior.

美国关于青年宗教信仰的研究历史悠久，主题丰富。20世纪60年代以前，该领域研究刚起步，基本都是定量调查，并且以描述性统计为主。这一时期的研究主题主要考察青年对宗教的态度，通过青年的宗教态度进而分析宗教变迁情况或这一态度对青年行为的影响。

In 1921, a study discussed and categorized the attitudes of college students toward organized religion at that time. This was one of the earlier articles on college student religious attitudes in *The Journal of Religion*, and it did not yet employ empirical research methods. In 1927, a study analyzed the religious attitudes of sociology students at the University of Washington. Students' belief in God and the immortality of the soul had significantly weakened compared to a decade earlier, and gender influenced religious attitudes. The study also advocated for quantitative research on attitudes in the religious field. In 1932, a study objectively measured the impact of college experience on students' concept of God, finding a weakening effect, and further compared the degree of this impact across different types of institutions. That same year, *The Attitude of Jewish College Students Toward Their Religion: A Social Survey of Religious Change* noted that only one-third of Jewish students still retained the concept of God, while the other two-thirds were primarily skeptical rather than atheistic or agnostic, and that institutional religion at the time failed to meet the needs of believers.

1921年，有研究对当时大学生对有组织宗教的态度进行论述和分类。这算是《宗教》（The Journal of Religion）上较早一篇关于大学生宗教态度的文章，尚未采用实证研究法。1927年，有研究分析华盛顿大学社会学系学生的宗教态度。学生对上帝和灵魂不朽的信仰相比十年前明显减弱，性别对宗教态度有影响。该研究还倡导宗教领域对态度的量化研究。1932年，有研究客观测量大学经历对学生对上帝的概念的影响，结果发现确实有弱化的影响，并进一步比较了在不同类型院校这种影响的程度。同年，《犹太大学生对其宗教的态度——对宗教变迁的社会调查》指出，只有三分之一的犹太学生仍保留上帝概念，另外三分之二主要是怀疑主义而非无神论和不可知论，当时的制度性宗教没能满足信徒的需要。

In 1957, a study conducted an experiment measuring the impact of religious factors on college student performance. The hypothesis was that in church-affiliated schools, students whose religious affiliation matched the denomination of the school would have significantly higher grade point averages than those whose religious affiliation did not match. The experimental results confirmed the hypothesis, showing that students' religious background did indeed affect their performance in college.

1957年，有研究对大学生进行测量宗教因子对其表现的影响实验。假设在教会学校中与该教派宗教信仰一致的学生，其平均绩点会比那些宗教信仰与该教派不一致的学生明显更高。实验结果证实了假设，即学生的宗教背景对其在大学的表现确实有影响。

II. From the 1960s to the End of the 20th Century: The Conservative Turn in American Youth Religious Beliefs, or the "Return of the 1950s"

二、20世纪60年代至20世纪末：美国青年宗教信仰的保守转向或“50年代的回归”

Beginning in the 1960s, research on the state of religious beliefs among American youth entered a phase of deeper thematic exploration. This period saw discussions on the relationship between religion and science, measurements of religiosity, and longitudinal studies tracking changes in youth religious views. Furthermore, the field moved away from primarily conducting surveys and began using quantitative techniques to directly analyze existing data, propose hypotheses, and test them. Overall, the research theme of this stage focused on examining changes in youth religious concepts, which was inseparable from the rapid social changes and the trend of religious secularization in the latter half of the 20th century.

20世纪60年代开始，美国关于青年宗教信仰状况的研究进入主题挖掘较深的阶段，出现了对宗教与科学关系的探讨，对宗教性的测量，以及对青年宗教观变化趋势的追踪研究等；而且该领域也不再以做调查为主，而是开始采用一些定量技术直接分析已有数据、提出假设并进行检验。整体而言，这一阶段的研究主题着眼于考察青年宗教观念的变迁情况，这与20世纪下半叶美国社会的迅速变迁和宗教世俗化趋势是分不开的。

(1) Before the Mid-1970s: The Development of Religious Liberalism and Decline in Religious Participation Among Youth

（一）70年代中期之前：青年中宗教自由主义趋于发展、宗教参与减弱

Hoge summarized major surveys on the religious state of college students over the preceding thirty years (up to the 1960s), examining the trend of religious liberalism among students against a backdrop of rapidly changing values. He probed the nature of students' religious problems, clarified their impact, and pointed out that social-psychological categories such as role and group identity could inform our understanding of religious change.

黑文总结了美国前三十年（截止20世纪60年代）关于大学生宗教状况的主要调查，考察在价值观迅速变迁的背景下，学生中宗教自由主义发展的趋势，探测学生宗教问题的本质，澄清其影响，并指出角色和群体身份认同等社会心理范畴可以启发我们对宗教变迁的理解。

Stark, using data from a 1958 national sample of graduate students from the National Opinion Research Center, analyzed whether religion and science are compatible, responding to the contemporary religion-science debate. He constructed two indicators: "religious participation" and "exposure to scientific-scholarly perspectives." Indicator analysis showed that emerging academics were likely to be irreligious, but this did not mean that science and religion were necessarily or permanently in conflict; the analysis results could only show that the binary debate between science and religion had a basis in reality.

斯达克以1958年全国民意调查中心一个全美研究生的样本数据为基础，分析宗教与科学是否相容，以回应当时的宗教科学大辩论。他构造出“宗教参与”和“接触学术性科学观点的程度”（exposure to scientific-scholarly perspectives）这两个指标。指标分析显示：新兴学术人很可能是反宗教的（irreligious），但这并不意味着科学与宗教必然或永远不和；分析结果只能显示科学与宗教的二元辩论有其现实基础。

Cooper argued that inconsistent definitions and operationalizations of religiosity might explain why studies on college student religiosity often yielded contradictory conclusions. He treated five core elements of the religious system—religious belief, ritual practice, religious knowledge, experiential/emotional elements, and the secular consequences of religious participation—as five dimensions for measuring religiosity. Testing this on a simple random sample of college students, he confirmed that a multidimensional measurement of religiosity was more helpful for a comprehensive understanding of religious participation than a unidimensional or two-dimensional perspective, and that students' degree of religious participation varied across each dimension. Students' religiosity was notably relatively low, with no strong commitment to institutional religion, but they were not universally non-religious; most students possessed a moderate religiosity and tended toward lower religious participation. Therefore, only by clearly defining the dimensions of religiosity used could one determine whether there was a religious revival, religious secularization, or religious differences among different groups within the college student population.

库珀认为，可能是宗教性的定义和操作化方式不一致，导致以往对大学生宗教性的研究常常结论不一致。他将宗教体系的五个核心要素：宗教信仰、仪式实践、宗教知识、经验情感要素以及宗教参与的世俗影响，作为测量宗教性的五个维度，在一个大学生简单随机样本中试用，证实多维的宗教性测量比仅仅单维或二维的测量视角更有助于全面充分的理解宗教参与，而且每一个维度上学生的宗教参与程度都不一样。学生的宗教性明显相对较低，对建制宗教没有很强的委身，但他们并非普遍地无宗教，大多数学生具有一种适度的宗教性并倾向一个较低的宗教参与。故而只有界定清楚宗教性的使用维度，才能说大学生中到底是宗教复兴、宗教世俗化抑或不同群体的宗教差异等。

(2) After the Mid-1970s: The Conservative Turn in Youth Religious Beliefs, or the "Return of the 1950s"

（二）70年代中期以后：青年宗教信仰的保守转向或“50年代的回归”

Starting in the 1970s, Hoge published a series of articles on college student religion. Through long-term longitudinal tracking surveys, he vividly demonstrated the trends of change in American college student religion during the mid-to-late 20th century, becoming a model of diachronic research and representing a peak in the development of this research stage.

从20世纪70年代开始，侯格发表了一系列关于大学生宗教方面的文章。通过长期跟踪调查，他将20世纪中下期美国大学生宗教方面的变化趋势展现得淋漓尽致，成为历时研究的一个典范，更代表了这一阶段研究的一个发展高潮。

Through diachronic comparative studies using data collected from long-term fixed-point surveys at some colleges and universities, Hoge found that the overall trend among American college students from the 1950s through the 1960s to the 1970s was: a weakening commitment to traditional religion, liberalization of beliefs, a decrease in religious behavior, and a continued decline in church participation; simultaneously, political participation increased, egoism decreased, and criticism of social institutions increased. Overall, there was a strong humanistic tendency, and the proportion of students opposing their parents' beliefs increased (from 57% in 1948 to 79% in 1974). However, starting in the latter half of the 1970s, students showed a slight turn toward conservative beliefs and greater church attendance, and after 1974, the number of students opposing their parents' beliefs did not increase. By the mid-1980s, there was a significant conservative shift in student attitudes on many religious and moral issues, and egoism became prominent. This was called the "return of the 1950s" by scholars. In fact, in most value domains, the attitudes of college students in the mid-1980s were either similar to those of the 1950s or were moving in that direction.

通过在一些学院或大学长期定点调查搜集数据进行历时比较研究，侯格发现50、60到70年代美国大学生中的整体趋势是：对传统宗教委身的减弱，信仰自由化，宗教行为减少，教会参与持续下降；同时政治参与增强，利己主义减弱，对社会制度的批评增加；整体而言人文主义倾向浓厚，而且反对父母的信仰的大学生比例增长（从1948年的57%到1974年的79%）。然而，从70年代下半期开始，学生们有一个朝向保守信仰和更多教堂参与的轻微转向，1974年之后反对父母的信仰的学生并没有增加。而到80年代中期，在许多宗教、道德问题上大学生的态度都有一个朝向保守的巨大转变，利己主义凸显，这被学界称为“50年代的回归”；事实上在多数价值领域，大学生们80年代中期的态度要么与50年代的相似要么正朝那个方向变化。

In fact, after entering the 1970s, represented by Hoge's longitudinal research, the field began to focus primarily on working with data, emphasizing the use of various quantitative techniques in analysis, and themes became more refined. One study used survey data from a university and employed hierarchical agglomerative clustering, a type of cluster analysis, to develop an empirical typology of individual religiosity and validated its use. Another study used cluster analysis to assess the religious needs of different types of students. Yet another study used scales to measure the relationship between Christian college students' concept of God and their commitment to God. In summary, from the 1960s to the end of the 20th century, research on the religious beliefs of American youth was intertwined with the application and development of quantitative research itself. As quantitative techniques expanded, research in this field deepened progressively.

事实上，进入70年代之后，以侯格的追踪研究为代表，该领域已经开始以做数据为主，更强调在分析中运用各种定量技术，主题也更趋于细化。有研究使用某大学调查数据，运用聚类分析中的层次聚集法发展出一个表示个体宗教性的经验类型，并对其使用进行验证。也有研究采用聚类分析法评估不同类型学生的宗教需求。还有研究采用量表测量基督宗教大学生对上帝的概念与其对上帝委身之间的关系。总之，20世纪60年代到20世纪末，美国对青年宗教信仰状况的研究其实与定量研究本身的应用和发展交织在一起，随着定量技术的不断拓展，该领域研究日益深入。

Hoge's longitudinal research also shows that, beginning in the 1970s, the influence of universities on students' religion in American society decreased, meaning the stage at which religious views are formed shifted to an earlier age, such as the middle school years. Consequently, religious researchers gradually turned their attention to the adolescent stage. Moreover, with social change, students are receiving education for longer periods, young people generally marry later, changes in the U.S. and even the global economy have led to increased instability in individual career paths, and correspondingly, the period of parental financial support for children has extended. All these factors have caused the "youth" stage to become increasingly prolonged—that is, the transition from adolescence to adulthood has lengthened—and, as a special life stage, "emerging adulthood" has become prominent. Therefore, in the United States, research on the religious beliefs of youth has, in part, gradually been incorporated into studies of this specific life stage. This represents a shift in research perspective that has accompanied social change and the deepening of scholarly inquiry.

侯格的历时研究还显示，20世纪70年代开始，美国社会中大学对学生宗教方面的影响降低，即宗教观形成的阶段降到了更早些年龄，比如中学时代，因此宗教研究者逐渐将注意力转向青少年阶段。而且随着社会变迁，学生受教育年龄愈来愈长，年轻人普遍晚婚，美国乃至全球经济变化导致个人职业生涯中不稳定因素增长，相应的父母对子女的经济支持时限延长，所有这些因素都使得“青年”这个阶段越来越长，即从少年到成年的过渡期变长，并且作为一个特殊的人生阶段，成年过渡期（emerging adulthood）凸显出来。因此在美国，关于青年宗教信仰的研究事实上已有一部分逐渐被纳入到对这个特殊人生阶段的相关研究中，这是伴随社会变迁、研究深化而出现的研究视角的转变。

III. From the 21st Century to the Present: The Religious Beliefs and Spiritual Quest of "Emerging Adults"

三、21世纪至今：“过渡期的成年人”的宗教信仰和灵性探寻

Entering the 21st century, research on the religious beliefs of American youth exhibits several distinct changes. First, new research perspectives and themes have emerged; the following discussion will explore two typical examples: "emerging adults" and spirituality. Second, there is an increasing use of qualitative analysis in research. Third, large-scale surveys that comprehensively employ both quantitative and qualitative techniques have appeared. In this phase, comprehensive studies guided by various new perspectives and themes have become representative. Compared with the previous two phases, the intensity of religious attitudes or the rapid changes in religious concepts and behaviors among American youth are no longer the central focus. Instead, the religious belief status and the problems faced by young people in the special life stage of "emerging adulthood" have become a key point of this phase. Furthermore, spirituality has entered the research field, and the "spiritual seeking" of young people has begun to replace religious change as a new theme favored by researchers.

进入21世纪，美国青年宗教信仰状况研究有几个鲜明的变化，第一，新的研究视角、研究主题纷纷出现，下文将探讨两个典型，即“过渡期的成年人”（emerging adults），和灵性（spirituality）；第二，运用定性分析的研究越来越多；第三，出现了综合运用定量和定性技术的大型调查研究。这一阶段，各种新视角、新主题主导下的综合性研究成为代表。相比前两个阶段，美国青年宗教信仰的态度强弱或宗教观念和行为的急速变迁不再成为关注重点，相反在“成年过渡期”这个特殊的人生阶段，初成年的青年人的宗教信仰状态和面临的问题，成为该阶段的一个重点。而且，灵性进入研究视野，青年人的灵性探寻（spiritual seeking）开始替代宗教变迁，成为研究者们青睐的新主题。

(I) The Religious and Cultural Structure of "Emerging Adults"

（一）“过渡期的成年人”的宗教文化结构

With a series of social changes in the second half of the 20th century, "emerging adulthood" has become prominent as a special life stage for Americans. In addition to the four influencing factors mentioned above, the effectiveness and widespread adoption of birth control methods, as well as the vulgarized dissemination of post-structuralist and postmodernist theories in American society and culture, have provided corresponding technological support and cultural backing for the emergence of this stage. Young people are no longer in a hurry to work, marry, and raise children. Instead, during this transitional period, they continuously explore, experience, learn, and experiment, focusing on the self, exploring identity, experiencing instability, and simultaneously sensing various possibilities and opportunities. The academic community generally defines the transitional period as between the ages of 18 and 30.

随着20世纪下半叶一系列的社会变迁，“成年过渡期”作为美国人一个特殊的人生阶段凸显出来。除了上文提到的四个影响因素之外，生育控制手段的有效性和广泛采用，以及后结构主义和后现代主义理论在美国社会文化中的庸俗化传播，也为这一阶段的出现提供了相应的技术支撑和文化支持。年轻人不再急着工作、结婚并养育子女，相反他们在这个过渡期不断摸索、体验、学习、尝试，关注自我，探索身份，经历不稳定性，同时感受各种的可能性和机会。学界一般认为，过渡期是从18岁到30岁之间。

A well-known study on the religious beliefs of "emerging adults" is that of Christian Smith, whose data comes from a large-scale national survey. The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) is a longitudinal study of the religious and spiritual conditions of American adolescents, comprehensively employing quantitative surveys and qualitative interview methods. It has been conducted in three waves since July 2002. By the third wave, the survey subjects were aged 18-23, precisely in the "emerging adulthood" stage.

对“过渡期的成年人”的宗教信仰状况比较著名的有克里斯汀·史密斯的研究，其数据均来自一项全美范围的大型调查。“青年与宗教的全国调查”是一份关于全美青少年的宗教与灵性状况的历时研究，综合运用定量调查和定性访谈的研究方法，自2002年7月以来已经执行了三期。第三期时调查对象是18-23岁，正处于“成年过渡期”。

Based on the third-wave data, Smith examined the religious and spiritual conditions of "emerging adults," with the results published in the book *Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults*. By depicting the religious and cultural structure of these "emerging adults"—their attitudes, concepts, and views on religion, and how they deal with their parents' faith and their own faith—American youth aged 18-23 can be categorized based on their religious and spiritual strength: Committed Traditionalists, no more than 15%; Selective Adherents, about 30%; Spiritually Open, about 15%; Religiously Indifferent, at least 25%; Religiously Disaffiliated, less than 5%; and Irreligious, less than 10%. For most emerging adults, religion is not that important; teaching people to be good is a common principle of most religions, but what drives life forward is their own feelings and will, not religious doctrines; they are clearly aware of the relativity of their own culture and rely more on empirical evidence, verifiable scientific facts, etc., to make judgments. They believe that religion should always remain in the private sphere, to be chosen or not chosen only when an individual finds it meaningful; once it becomes a major social or institutional concern, it can become rigid and untrustworthy. In summary, there is not necessarily a universal religious decline among these "emerging adults"; although parental influence weakens during this stage, the religious life of parents (the frequency of their religious service attendance, the importance of religion in their lives, etc.) remains one of the most powerful factors influencing the religious condition of these youth. Whether those concerned about youth or members of the religious community, they all need to submit themselves to the social, cultural, and institutional structures and forces that dominate youth and shape their religious and spiritual state during this special life stage.

史密斯以第三期数据为基础，考察“过渡期的成年人”的宗教和灵性情况，结果成书于《转变中的灵魂——过渡期的成年人的宗教和灵性生活》。通过描绘这些“过渡期的成年人”的宗教文化结构：他们对宗教的态度、观念、看法，如何对待父母的信仰和自己的信仰等，可将美国18-23岁的青年根据宗教和灵性上的强弱分类，即：虔诚的传统主义者，比例不超过15%；选择性的支持者，约30%；灵性上的开放者，约15%；宗教上不感兴趣者，至少25%；宗教上无任何联系者，不到5%；反对宗教者，不到10%。对大多数过渡期的成年人来说，宗教并没有那么重要；教人为善是大多数宗教的共同准则，但推动生命向前的是他们自身的感觉和意愿，而非宗教信条；他们清楚自身文化的相对性，更倚重经验证据、可证实的科学事实等做判断。他们认为宗教应当一直停留在私人领域，仅当个体觉得有意义时才去选择或不选择，一旦它成为一项主要的社会性或制度性关切，它就可能变得僵化、不可信。总之，这些“过渡期的成年人”中并不必然存在普遍的宗教衰退；这个阶段尽管父母影响会减弱，但父母的宗教生活（父母参加宗教仪式的频数、宗教信仰在其生活中的重要性等）仍是影响这些青年宗教状况最有力的因素之一。不论是那些关心青年的人们还是宗教界人士，都需要让自己顺从那些在这个特殊人生阶段支配着青年并形塑其宗教、灵性状态的社会、文化和制度的结构以及力量。

Still through the lens of "emerging adults," Smith further explores the religious and spiritual lives of American Catholic youth. These youth remain under the profound influence of the Catholic Church reforms of the 20th century; with the decline of certain collective religious practices within Catholicism, a considerable number of Catholic parents are unable or unwilling to transmit their faith to their children; an increasing number of American youth no longer remain in the faith tradition in which they were raised; they either change their religious affiliation or marry someone of another religion or no religion.

仍然通过“过渡期的成年人”视角，史密斯进一步探讨美国天主教青年的宗教和灵性生活。这些青年仍然处于20世纪天主教教会改革的深刻影响之下；随着天主教中一些群体性宗教实践形式的衰落，相当多的天主教父母无法或不愿将其信仰传递给孩子；越来越多的美国青年不再停留在他们所成长起来的信仰传统中，他们要么变换宗教归属，要么与其他宗教或没有宗教信仰的人结婚。

(II) Spiritual Quest in the Context of Therapeutic Individualistic Culture

（二）治疗性个人主义文化背景下的灵性探寻

In the American NSYR survey, spirituality has become a dimension alongside religion, an indispensable auxiliary descriptor for the religious belief status of youth. This concept itself has a long history, originating from the Latin *spiritus*, meaning breath. In the 5th century AD, Christianity used *spiritualitas* to denote the influence of God and spirits on human life. Later, it was also used to refer to mental functions as opposed to "tangible, material" ones. In the 1960s, with the study of the psychology of religion, spirituality gradually separated from religion as a psychological term. By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, spirituality gained widespread attention in various fields such as medicine, clinical psychology, sociology, and education, particularly showing significant effects in the treatment and rehabilitation of physical and mental illnesses.

在美国NSYR调查中，灵性已成为与宗教并提、必不可少的一个辅助描述青年宗教信仰状况的维度。这一概念本身历史悠久，源出拉丁语spiritus，呼吸之意。公元5世纪时基督教用spiritualitas表示上帝和神灵对人类生活的影响。后来它也用于表示与“有形的、物质的”相对的心理功能。20世纪60年代，随着宗教心理学的研究，灵性逐渐作为一个心理学术语脱离了宗教。到20世纪末21世纪初，灵性在医学、临床心理学、社会学、教育学等各个领域都获得广泛关注，尤其对身心疾病的治疗和康复效果显著。

At the same time, therapeutic individualism has become a social culture influencing American youth that cannot be ignored. Although it is not a conscious ideological system, it has deeply affected the daily morality and interpersonal relationship norms of contemporary American society. It regards the individual self as the true source and standard of morality and authority, and treats individual self-realization as the entire goal of life. Only the individual's subjective experience is the touchstone of whether anything is true or correct; external social traditions, responsibilities, and institutions are seen as constraints on morality and behavior. People are encouraged to look inward, connect with their true feelings, and find their authentic self. Under the influence of this culture, the authority and functions of traditional priests, pastors, parents, and legislators have been largely replaced by professional psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other therapeutic counselors. Many behaviors once considered morally corrupt, such as alcoholism, drug use, and debt, are now regarded as psychological and physiological abnormalities, thus requiring treatment, self-help seminars, support groups, and other recovery programs to address them. Therapeutic individualism is precisely a byproduct of the cultural pluralism of modernity. In frequent contact with radically different "others," originally objectively shared cognitive and moral norms may become unworkable, and are thus replaced by narrower ideological norms that advocate individual subjective feelings and self-realization.

与此同时，治疗性个人主义（therapeutic individualism）成为影响美国青年的一种不可忽视的社会文化，它虽不是一种有意识的思想体系，但却深深影响了当代美国社会的日常道德和人际关系准则。它将个体自身视为真正的道德和权威的来源和标准，将个体的自我实现视作生命的全部目标。只有个体的主观体验才是一切是否真实、正确的试金石，外在的社会传统、责任和制度则被视为约束了道德和行为。人们被鼓励朝内看，与自己的真实感受连接，找到真正的自我。在这一文化影响下，传统的神父、牧师、父母和立法者的权威和职能大量地被专业的心理学家、精神科医生、社会工作者以及其他治疗性的咨询师等所取代。许多曾被认为是道德败坏的行为，比如酗酒、吸毒、欠债等，如今则被认为是心理和生理异常，因而需要采用治疗、自助研讨、支持群组等康复计划来对治。治疗性个人主义正是现代性文化多元主义的一个副产品，人们在与截然不同的“他者”频繁接触中，原本客观共享的认知和道德规范可能会行不通，进而为倡导个体主观感受和自我实现的更窄的思想规范所取代。

Against this backdrop, young people seek religious practices and experiences that can satisfy their subjective needs. Faith gradually becomes less centered on believing in God and His teachings on life, and more centered on self-trust, self-realization, and happiness. It is precisely under this trend that spirituality has gradually broken free from the meaning of historical religious theology and has been redefined as a spiritual mode of self-realization. It is an individual capacity for integration, subjective feeling, and self-transcendence oriented toward health and happiness. It is no longer confined to religiosity but has expanded into a broader, more universal realm beyond religion.

在这样的背景下，青年人会寻求能够满足他们主观需要的宗教实践和体验，信仰逐渐不那么以相信上帝及其对生活的教导为中心，而是更多地以自我信任、自我实现和幸福为中心。正是在这一趋势下，灵性逐渐从历史上宗教神学的含义中挣脱出来，被重新界定为一种精神性的自我实现方式，它是迈向健康和幸福的一种个体整合、主观感受和自我超越的能力。它不再局限于宗教性，而是拓展到宗教之外更广阔、普遍的领域。

Starting in 2003, over a period of seven years, the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted the "Spirituality in Higher Education: A National Study of College Students' Search for Meaning and Purpose." This study was the first longitudinal research on the spiritual growth of undergraduate students across the United States, directly examining how students' spiritual qualities change during their college years and the role of universities in promoting students' spiritual development. The study measured five spiritual qualities and five religious qualities of students. Although students' religious affiliation weakened during college, their spiritual qualities developed significantly. If students actively engaged in "inner work" through self-reflection, contemplation, or meditation, they showed the greatest development in all five spiritual qualities; if teachers encouraged students to explore questions of meaning and purpose, students' spiritual quest qualities also increased substantially; most charitable participation during college, such as community service, helping others, and donating money, contributed to the promotion of other spiritual qualities; growth in the quality of equanimity improved students' grade point averages, leadership abilities, mental health, ability to get along with people from other ethnicities or cultures, and satisfaction with college; educational experiences and practices that promoted spiritual development, such as studying abroad, interdisciplinary courses, self-reflection, and meditation, all had positive effects on traditional college education; and so on. In summary, higher education should pay more attention to students' spiritual development, because spirituality is indispensable to students' lives; promoting students' spiritual growth helps cultivate a new generation that is more caring, globally conscious, and more attentive to social justice, and also helps them better cope with the tensions and pressures brought about by rapid social change.

加州大学洛杉矶分校高等教育研究所自2003年开始，历时7年，主持了“高等教育中的灵性：一份大学生寻找意义和目的的全国调查”。该研究是第一份对全美本科生灵性成长的历时研究，直接考察学生的灵性品质在大学期间如何变化，以及大学在促进学生的灵性发展方面所起的作用。该研究测量了学生的五种灵性品质和五种宗教品质。虽然大学期间学生的宗教归属有所减弱，但他们的灵性品质得到了很大发展。如果学生通过自我反思、沉思或者禅修积极进行“内在工作”，他们在五种灵性品质上都会显示最大程度的发展；如果教师鼓励学生探索意义和目的问题，学生的精神探求品质也会大幅增长；大多数大学期间的慈善参与比如社区服务、助人、捐钱等，都有助于促进其他的灵性品质；在平静这一品质上的成长会提高学生的平均绩点、领导能力、精神健康、与其他民族或文化相处的能力，以及对大学的满意度；促进灵性发展的教育经历和实践比如海外学习、跨学科课程、自我反思、禅修等，对传统的大学教育一律有正向的影响；等等。总之，高等教育应当更多关注学生的灵性发展，因为对学生的生命来说灵性不可缺少；推动学生的灵性成长有助于形成更有爱心、有全球意识、更重视社会公平的新一代，也有助于他们更好的应对社会迅速变迁带来的紧张和压力。

(3) Will the Spiritual Quest of American Youth Replace Traditional Religious Belief?

（三）美国青年的灵性探寻会替代传统宗教信仰吗？

Represented by the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute study, surveys by higher education researchers often show that college students or "emerging adults" have a high interest in spirituality. American media also frequently report that today's youth are "spiritual but not religious," or are "spiritual seekers." Various bestsellers also reflect that today's youth like spiritual things and dislike churches and traditional religion.

以加州大学高教所的研究为代表，高校教育研究者的调查往往显示大学生或“过渡期的成年人”对灵性有着很高的兴趣。美国媒体也常常报道，当今青年是“灵性的而非宗教的”，或者是“灵性探寻者”（spiritual seekers）。各种畅销书也反映，当今青年喜欢灵性的事物，讨厌教堂和传统宗教。

However, Smith argues that although these judgments have some factual basis, they contain exaggeration and misunderstanding. According to the results of the NSYR survey, only about 15% of "emerging adults" are spiritual seekers. The vast majority of young people are not that interested in religion or spirituality, such as the "disengaged" (10%), the "religiously indifferent" (5%), the "irreligious" (25%), and the "selective adherents" (30%). For the majority of "committed traditionalists" (15%), spirituality is not a free-form experience of individual inner self-exploration, but rather specific practices or meanings closely tied to traditional religious beliefs. Even among the "spiritual seekers," most are merely open in attitude and do not actively seek spirituality; they are only willing to retain a possibility—that reality is not just energy and matter, and that the universe is not random and meaningless. Smith analyzes in detail, from aspects such as the conceptual design of the survey questionnaire, sampling bias, media influence, and the subjective intentions of researchers, why some studies exaggerate young people's interest in spirituality. Dissatisfaction with or rejection of traditional religion or organized religion is an important reason why many researchers seek to promote spiritual development. In summary, American youth have an interest in spirituality, but it is only a very small portion [Christian Smith & Patricia Snell. 2009. Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. Oxford University Press. Pp.295-297.]. Therefore, spirituality as an emerging topic deserves continued scholarly attention, but it is not yet sufficient to shake the traditional religious structural form of American society.

然而，史密斯认为，这些判断虽有一定的事实基础，但其中存在夸大和误解。根据NSYR调查结果，只有约15%的“过渡期的成年人”是灵性上的开放者。绝大部分年轻人对宗教和灵性并没那么感兴趣，比如“反对宗教者”（10%），“宗教上无任何联系者”（5%），“宗教上不感兴趣者”（25%），以及“选择性的支持者”（30%）。而对大多数“虔诚的传统主义者”（15%）来说，灵性也不是一种个体内在自我探索的自由式体验，而是与传统宗教信仰紧密相连的特定的实践或意义。即便“灵性上的开放者”，大多数人也只是态度开放，并没有积极寻求灵性，他们只是愿意保留一种可能性，即相信现实不只是能量和物质，宇宙也并非随机和无意义的。史密斯从调查问卷的概念设计、抽样偏差、媒体影响和研究者主观意图等方面，详细分析了为何一些调查研究会夸大青年对灵性的兴趣。对传统宗教或有组织宗教的不满或排斥，是很多研究者试图推动灵性发展的一个重要原因。总而言之，美国青年对灵性有兴趣，但只是极少一部分[ Christian Smith & Patricia Snell. 2009. Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. Oxford University Press. Pp.295-297.]。因此，灵性这一新兴主题值得学者们继续关注，但它尚不足以撼动美国社会传统的宗教结构形态。

In addition, research on the religious beliefs of American youth has opened up more diverse themes or perspectives, and qualitative research methods are increasingly being used. Some scholars have used fieldwork to study the social and cultural factors in the conversion of Chinese American college students to Christianity [Brian Hall, “Social and Cultural Contexts in Conversion to Christianity among Chinese American College Students”, Sociology of Religion, Vol. 67, No. 2, Special Issue: Conversion to Christianity among the Chinese (Summer, 2006), pp.131-147.], while others have taken a campus Christian student organization as a case study, examining its subcultural role on campus from a critical theory perspective [Peter Magolda & Kelsey Ebben, “Students Serving Christ: Understanding the Role of Student Subcultures on a College Campus”, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 2(Jun., 2007), pp.138-158.]. In short, since the 21st century, the use of empirical methods in research on the religious beliefs of American youth has become increasingly diverse, and various theoretical perspectives and research themes have grown richer and more pluralistic. This is an inevitable result of the development of the times and social change. Large-scale survey studies that comprehensively employ various research methods fully demonstrate that this research field has entered a mature stage of development. Its research conclusions not only have guiding significance for the field itself but also play an important predictive and normative role for the overall level of American society and culture.

此外，美国青年宗教信仰状况研究还开辟了更为多样化的主题或视角，定性研究方法也越来越多的被使用。有学者采用田野调查法研究美国华裔大学生皈信基督宗教的社会文化因素[ Brian Hall, “Social and Cultural Contexts in Conversion to Christianity among Chinese American College Students”, Sociology of Religion, Vol. 67, No. 2, Special Issue: Conversion to Christianity among the Chinese (Summer, 2006), pp.131-147.]，有学者以一个校园基督宗教学生组织为个案，从批判理论视角考察该组织在校园的亚文化角色[ Peter Magolda & Kelsey Ebben, “Students Serving Christ: Understanding the Role of Student Subcultures on a College Campus”, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 2(Jun., 2007), pp.138-158.]。总之，21世纪以来，美国青年的宗教信仰状况研究，实证方法的运用日渐多样化，各种理论视角、研究主题日益丰富多元，这都是时代发展、社会变迁的必然结果。综合运用各种研究方法的大型调查研究充分显示，该研究领域进入了成熟的发展阶段，其研究结论不仅对本领域有指导意义，对于美国社会文化的整体层面也有重要的预测和规范的作用。

IV. Conclusion

四、结 论

(I) The Religious Beliefs of American Youth Reflect Religious Change

（一）美国青年的宗教信仰状况体现宗教变迁

The preceding text has concisely presented the development process of research on the religious beliefs of American youth. This field has developed over nearly 100 years; this article can only select key studies from each stage to outline a relatively complete developmental thread. It truthfully presents the changes and developments in the religious beliefs of American youth since the 20th century, as well as the changes in religion within Western society.

前文对美国青年宗教信仰状况研究的发展过程进行了简洁的呈现。该领域发展跨度近100年，本文只能摘取各阶段的关键研究，勾勒一条相对完整的发展线索。它真实地呈现出20世纪以来美国青年宗教信仰状况的变化发展，以及宗教在西方社会的变迁情况。

First, the religious beliefs of American youth reflect the overall development trend of secularization and privatization of religion in Western society since the 20th century. Up to the 1970s, the religious attitudes of American youth continuously weakened, religious liberalism developed, and religious participation declined. Secular education and university experiences both had a weakening effect on youth religiosity; institutional religion could no longer meet their faith needs. Although religion faced widespread questioning from secular scientific culture, college students were not universally non-religious; rather, they maintained a moderate degree of religiosity and a lower level of religious participation. The trend of religious secularization was clearly evident. However, starting in the mid-1970s, due to social and epochal reasons, youth beliefs turned towards conservatism. Also because of this shift, research during this period began to focus on more nuanced themes, such as religiosity, the religious needs of college students, religious attitudes and behaviors, and conversion. Of course, religious secularization remained the major trend; the conservative turn was a particular "return" phenomenon of a specific era.

首先，美国青年的宗教信仰状况体现了20世纪以来，西方社会宗教世俗化、私人化的整体发展趋势。截止20世纪70年代，美国青年宗教信仰态度持续减弱，宗教自由主义发展，宗教参与减弱。世俗教育、大学经历都对青年的宗教信仰有弱化影响，制度性宗教不再能够满足其信仰需求。虽然宗教遭遇了世俗科学文化的广泛质疑，但大学生中并非普遍地无宗教，而是保持着适度的宗教性和一个较低的宗教参与。宗教的世俗化趋势表现明显。然而70年代中期开始，由于社会和时代的原因，青年的信仰转而趋于保守。也由于这一转变，这一时期的研究开始关注更为细微的主题，比如宗教性，大学生的宗教需求，宗教态度与行为，改宗等。当然，宗教世俗化仍然是大趋势，保守转向是个别时代特别的“回归”现象。

Entering the 21st century, most "emerging adults" believe that religion is not that important and that it should remain in the private sphere rather than serving as a major social institution. Their spiritual quest under the culture of therapeutic individualism further promotes the secularization, marginalization, and privatization of traditional religion. In fact, the traditional socio-cultural structures of the United States continue to persist among these youth, shaping their religious and spiritual states. The secularization trend of religion has not reached its endpoint as initially predicted but has found a suitable position within privatization.

进入21世纪，大多数“过渡期的成年人”认为，宗教并没那么重要，它应当停留在私人领域，而不是作为一项主要的社会制度。他们在治疗性个人主义文化下的灵性探寻，更成为对传统宗教世俗化、边缘化和宗教信仰私人化的一个推动。事实上，美国传统的社会文化结构仍然在这些青年身上延续，形塑其宗教和灵性状态。宗教的世俗化趋势并没像它最开始被预测的那样走到终点，而是在私人化中找到了一个合适的位置。

Second, the changes and developments in the religious beliefs of American youth are deeply rooted in American local culture and possess a vivid zeitgeist. Whether it was the conservative turn in college student attitudes in the 1970s or the religious-cultural structure of "emerging adults" in the 21st century, both bear profound imprints of their times and the characteristics of American culture itself. The "emerging adult" perspective and the theme of spirituality are also solidly supported by the reality of American socio-cultural change. Local characteristics are precisely the source of vibrant vitality. Although they cannot be directly used to explain other eras or other civilizations, exploring them can provide insights and guidance for understanding our own culture and the situation of religious beliefs among youth in our country.

其次，美国青年宗教信仰状况的变化发展深深扎根美国的本土文化，具有鲜活的时代气息。不论是20世纪70年代大学生态度的保守转向，还是21世纪“过渡期的成年人”的宗教文化结构，都带有深刻的时代烙印以及美国文化自身的特点。“过渡期的成年人”视角以及灵性主题，同样有着深刻的美国社会文化变迁的现实支撑。本土特色正是鲜活的生命力之源，固然它们无法直接用于解释其他时代，或其他文明，但对其探索却可以为我们理解自身的文化、理解我国青年宗教信仰领域的情况提供一种洞察和指导。

(II) Research on the Religious Beliefs of American Youth Has Distinct Developmental Characteristics

（二）美国青年的宗教信仰状况研究具有鲜明的发展特点

First, it is the continuous improvement and refinement of research methods that have driven the sustained deepening and expansion of research on the religious beliefs of American youth. Before the 21st century, the advancement of quantitative techniques dominated research development; after the 21st century, the combined use of quantitative and qualitative research methods has promoted deeper analysis and simultaneously enhanced the explanatory level of the research. The improvement and expansion of research explanatory power, in turn, promote further innovation in research methods. After the 21st century, the use of qualitative research methods has also become increasingly diverse, such as fieldwork and case analysis.

首先，正是研究方法的不断提升和完善推动美国青年宗教信仰状况研究持续深入和扩展。21世纪之前，定量技术的提升主导了研究发展；21世纪之后，定量和定性的研究方法综合使用，推动研究分析深入，同时也提升研究的解释层次。而研究解释能力的提升和扩展，反过来又会促进研究方法进一步创新。21世纪之后定性研究方法的运用也日渐多样化，如田野调查法、个案分析等。

Second, with the changes and developments in research subjects and content, various research perspectives and themes have also continuously expanded and deepened. Both American youth and their religious beliefs have undergone certain transformations amidst the epochal development and cultural changes of American society. The "emerging adult" perspective and the theme of spirituality truly reflect these transformations, enhancing understanding and knowledge of the religious beliefs of American youth from new angles.

其次，随着研究对象、研究内容的变化发展，各种研究视角、主题也不断拓展深入。不论是美国青年还是其宗教信仰状况，在美国社会的时代发展、文化变迁中都发生了一定的转变，“过渡期的成年人”视角，以及灵性主题就真实体现了这些转变，它们从新的角度提升对于美国青年宗教信仰状况的理解和认识。

(III) Implications for Research on the Religious Beliefs of Chinese Youth

（三）对我国青年宗教信仰状况研究的启示

For the United States, the religious and cultural tradition is an important component of the entire social structure, which is determined by its founding history. Our country, however, is a socialist country; Marxist theory on religion is the fundamental ideology for understanding religious issues. In our country's social environment, a basic starting point for research on the phenomenon of youth religious beliefs is to understand the real situation of young people, unite religious and non-religious youth, guide them to actively practice the core socialist values, and promote Chinese culture. Religious youth, in particular, should integrate religious doctrines with Chinese civilization and jointly devote themselves to the great tide of socialist modernization. Moreover, by studying the religious beliefs of youth, we can also examine the changes and developments in our country's religion and social changes. The "religious fever" among youth since the turn of the century reflects the recovery and development of religion in our country after reform and opening up, as well as society's tolerant attitude towards religion. The specific circumstances of religious recovery and development, the specific attitudes of the public towards religion, and the real impact of religious recovery and development on our country require further in-depth research.

对美国来说，宗教文化传统是整个社会结构的重要组成部分，这是由其建国的历史决定的。而我国是一个社会主义国家，马克思主义宗教理论是我们认识宗教问题的基本思想。在我国的社会环境下，青年宗教信仰现象研究的一个基本出发点，就是了解青年的真实情况，团结信教和不信教青年，引导他们积极践行社会主义核心价值观，弘扬中华文化，信教青年尤其要将宗教教义与中华文明相融合，共同投身于社会主义现代化建设的大潮。而且，通过对青年宗教信仰状况的研究，还可以考察我国宗教的变化发展情况以及社会变迁情况。本世纪以来的青年“宗教热”体现了改革开放之后我国宗教获得的复苏和发展，以及社会对宗教的宽容态度。那么，宗教复苏发展的具体情况、社会公众对宗教的具体态度、以及宗教复苏和发展给我国带来的真实影响，还需要进一步深入研究。

Research in the field of youth religious beliefs in our country is still in its early stages of development, somewhat similar to the transition between the first and second stages in the United States. However, since empirical research methods have already matured, although quantitative studies are currently predominant domestically, there is no shortage of studies using qualitative methods. Therefore, drawing on the American experience, we must pay particular attention to our national conditions and cultural characteristics, take root locally, integrate with the times, expand research themes and perspectives with our cultural characteristics, and conduct relevant research in the field of youth religious beliefs with a rigorous and scientific attitude.

我国青年宗教信仰领域的研究还处于发展初期，有一些类似于美国第一、二阶段之交的情况。不过由于实证研究方法均已发展成熟，虽然国内目前定量研究居多，但也不乏采用定性方法的研究。因此，借鉴美国的情况，我们尤其要注意我国国情和文化特点，扎根本土，结合时代，拓展具有我国文化特色的研究主题和视角，以一种严谨科学的态度进行青年宗教信仰领域的相关研究。

At present, in the existing research in this field in our country, first, the standardization of research methods urgently needs to be strengthened. A large number of studies lack scientific rigor in their use of questionnaire surveys; key concepts in questionnaire design are unclear, and surveys that clarify the sampling frame design are few and far between. This makes it difficult to guarantee the reliability and validity of empirical research, the comparability of data obtained from various studies is very weak, and the representativeness of the overall youth population is limited. In fact, some existing large-scale social surveys have already accumulated relevant data. Through quantitative analysis techniques, and under the condition of clarifying concepts and indicator system measurements, it is possible to conduct diachronic studies of the religious belief status of certain youth groups. This not only helps to understand the changes and developments of this group but can also reflect the trends of religious change and social transformation in our society, which holds significant academic value and practical significance.

目前我国该领域的既有研究，首先，研究方法的规范性亟待加强。大量研究对问卷调查的采用缺乏科学性，问卷设计关键概念不清晰，而阐明抽样框设计的调查屈指可数。这就使得实证研究的信度和效度难以保证，各类研究所得数据的相互比较性很弱，对青年整体的代表性也有限。其实，一些既有的大型社会调查已对相关数据有所积累，可以通过定量分析技术，在明确概念和指标体系测量的情况下，进行一些青年群体宗教信仰状况的历时研究，这不仅有助于了解该群体的变化发展情况，还能反映我国社会宗教变化的趋势和社会变迁情况，很有学术价值和现实意义。

Second, there are still few distinctive and explanatory research perspectives or theoretical themes. For example, research on Christian belief among our country’s youth has utilized role and group identity theories. However, perspectives or themes born from our country’s own soil, bearing the characteristics of our culture, still require researchers to attempt to refine them from the research itself, based on a deeper grasp of our current social reality and cultural characteristics. The religious belief status of American youth reflects the development and trends of religion in American society. The tendencies toward religious secularization and privatization since the 20th century are all manifested in the religious attitudes and belief choices of these youth. The emergence of spiritual seeking is precisely a challenge to traditional organized religion. Whether these religious changes have also affected our country requires more exploration by researchers.

其次，鲜明又有解释力的研究视角或理论主题还很少。比如对我国青年基督教信仰的研究就用到了角色和群体身份认同理论。然而，诞生于我国本土的、带有我国文化特点的视角或主题，还需要研究者在更深入把握我国当前社会现实和文化特点的基础上，尝试从研究本身进行提炼。美国青年的宗教信仰状况，体现美国社会宗教的发展情况和趋势。20世纪以来宗教世俗化、私人化的发展倾向，都从这些青年的宗教态度和信仰选择中体现出来。灵性探寻的出现正是对传统有组织宗教的一个挑战。这些宗教变迁是否也同样影响到了我国，还需要研究者们进行更多的探索。

Finally, a good piece of social science research has conclusions that not only provide guidance for a specific research field but also play a predictive and normative role for society and culture as a whole. The NSYR survey led by Smith achieved this. When “emerging adults” appeared as a group at the forefront of the era, he continuously wrote works explaining their religious and spiritual status, even authoring separate books to discuss the problems faced by this group. And when the theme of “spirituality” emerged with the times, widely praised by American social media and researchers, he used data from national sample surveys to tirelessly clarify the facts: American youth are interested in spirituality, but only a very small portion; spirituality is not yet sufficient to shake the traditional religious structural form of American society. He used the conclusions of scientific research to regulate and guide social facts. Because for the United States, its religious tradition is a very important part of the social structure, bearing important social functions. Smith points out: “We must distinguish between the findings of good social science research, and the reports of methodologically limited surveys, and the assertions of cultural and religious activists. In themselves, they all have their rationality, but they are not the same thing. Readers and listeners should not adopt their conclusions with the same attitude or simply accept them.”

最后，一份好的社会科学研究，其结论不仅对某一研究领域有指导意义，还会对社会文化从整体上起到一定的预测和规范的作用。史密斯主导的NSYR调查就做到了这一点。当“过渡期的成年人”作为一个群体出现于时代潮头，他连续撰著阐释其宗教和灵性状况，甚至单独著书探讨该群体面临的问题。而当“灵性”这一主题随时代现身，广为美国社会媒体和研究者吹捧之时，他则运用全国抽样调查的数据资料不遗余力地澄清事实：美国青年对灵性有兴趣，但只是极少一部分；灵性尚不足以撼动美国社会传统的宗教结构形态。他在用科学研究的结论规范和引导社会事实。因为对美国来说，其宗教传统是社会结构中很重要的一部分，承担着重要的社会功能。史密斯指出：“我们要分清好的社会科学研究的发现，和方法有限的调查研究的报告，以及文化的和宗教的活动家的断言。就它们自身来说，它们都有合理性，但它们却不是一回事。读者和听众不应该用同样的态度、简单的采纳它们的结论。”

It is evident that American research is deeply rooted in the values of its own native culture. Similarly, when engaging in social science research, we must adhere to our own standpoint and serve the grand goals of our culture and socialist construction. Rooted in our native soil, integrated with the times, we should further standardize and expand research in the field of youth religious belief status in our country, use Marxist religious theory to address issues related to youth groups, guide youth culture, and better promote the construction of socialist cultural-ethical progress. This is also a need to uphold and develop the socialist religious theory with Chinese characteristics under the current situation.

显而易见，美国的研究深深植根于其本土文化的价值观。同样，我们从事社会科学研究更要坚守自身的立场，为我们的文化和社会主义建设的宏伟目标服务。扎根本土、结合时代，进一步规范并拓展我国青年宗教信仰状况领域的研究，运用马克思主义宗教理论解决青年群体的相关问题，引导青年文化，更好的推动社会主义精神文明建设。这也是当前形势下坚持和发展中国特色社会主义宗教理论的需要。

(Author: Assistant Researcher, Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者：中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院助理研究员）

Online Editor: Rainbow

网络编辑：彩虹

Originally published in *World Religious Culture*, Issue 1, 2020

原文发表于《世界宗教文化》2020年第1期