Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me, chose not to include religion in her book. I believe that she did so because religion is a set of beliefs that an individual chooses to have faith in. Previous generations have accepted religion without questions. According to Generation Me, today’s youth doesn’t feel the same way. Melissa, age 20, says, “I live my life according to the morals, views, and standards that I create.” According to Twenge, Melissa’s opinion is representative of Generation Me in that Generation Me does not feel the need to adhere to one specific set of beliefs. We are so individualistic that accepting a set of beliefs that is already there is hard to do. Melissa also says, “I believe that whatever you feel, it’s personal… Everybody has their own idea of God and what God is… You have your own personal beliefs of how you feel about it and what’s acceptable for you and what’s right for you personally.” We would rather think about it ourselves and chose what we want to believe, rather than be told what to believe. However, in my opinion Twenge overlooked the members of Generation Me who do chose to believe in some form of organized religion. Even if most members of Generation Me chose to believe what ever they want, many of us do chose to follow a specific religion. Growing up with your parent’s religion may not be a choice, but it is a very personal choice to actually accept that religion as your own and to practice it in your everyday life. I was raised Catholic but it took a long time for me to actually accept God as my own and to make the choice to worship him. Going to church on Sunday because your parents make you is one thing but choosing to go on your own and actually caring about your faith is entirely different. Everyday, I have a choice to either live my life for my God and to follow the standards that He sets for me or to do whatever I want. I chose to follow God not because I feel I have to, I want to. It is an individual choice, just as choosing not to believe is. If Twenge had included the members of Generation Me who believe in an organized form of religion, she would have a stronger argument that Generation Me is individualistic because just as those who don’t believe in a specific religion chose not to, those who do chose to.
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