november 21, 2006
Cross Banned From William & Mary Chapel; Young Adults Disengaging From Church
Officials at the College of William and Mary have removed a gold cross from a campus chapel in what they call "the spirit of diversity" to make the chapel more "welcoming to all."
The gold cross was originally the property of the historic Burton Parish Church in Williamsburg and has been on the altar of the Sir Christopher Wren Chapel for more than 60 years. After being renovated, Burton Parish Church gave its 2-foot tall gold altar cross for display behind the Wren Chapel altar and purchased a new cross for the church.
The older cross was on permanent display in the Wren Chapel until this year when it was removed at the order of William and Mary president, Gene R. Nichol.
"The effort here is to make certain that everyone feel it's their space," said William and Mary's vice president of student affairs, Sam Sadler. "Also, we are a public university, committed to serving everyone."
A group of students have started a petition to have to chapel restored at SavetheWrenCross.org.
According to the student's Web site, prior to President Nichol’s cross removal order, the policy governing the display of the Wren Cross was that any group or individual using the chapel was able to ask that the Wren Cross be removed for the duration of their event. During the 2005-2006 academic year, approximately 20 out of 111 wedding celebrations that took place in the Wren Chapel had asked that the Wren Cross be removed during the wedding celebration.
A student-organized petition has been presented to the Board of Visitors at William & Mary College, seeking the restoration to the historic cross. The petition at the start of the day had about 1,400 signatures -- both students and faculty -- but by the end of the day the count was nearly 2,100 calling on the school's governing board to return the cross.
Read the History of the Wren Cross from the Burton Parish Church historian, Susan Godson.
More from the William and Mary Web site.
New Barna Study Shows Young Adults are Leaving Churches
A new study by The Barna Group shows that despite strong levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most twentysomethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years.
According to the research, six out of ten twentysomethings were involved in a church during their teen years, but failed to translate that into active spirituality during their early adulthood.
The poll compared the moral and religious views of young adults in their 20s and 30s with the views of adults over 40. The research showed that adults in their 20s and 30s were at least twice as likely as their elders to have a sexual encounter outside of marriage; used illegal drugs; gotten drunk; used profanity in public; lied; taken revenge; physically fought or physically abused someone; viewed sexually explicit videos; or said mean things behind someone's back.
Differences also appeared in what the two groups believed.
Young adults were more likely than older adults to reject the biblical concept of absolute truth. They were significantly less likely to believe, as their elders do, that human beings should determine what is right and wrong morally by examining God's principles.
Young adults were also more likely than older adults to believe that ethics and morality are based on "what is right for the person."
Finally, even young Christian adults were more likely than older adults to accept same-sex marriage and pre-marital sex.
Vice President David Kinnaman of the Barna Group suggested, "It seems entirely possible that current events such as the Mark Foley scandal, instances of abuse by clergy, and the sexually oriented school shootings of recent months are not mere aberrations, but symptoms of a sexually unrestrained society.
"It is important for churches to understand the natural skepticism of [young adults] as well as their desire for spiritual and conversational depth," he added. "Young adults do not want to hear on-the-stage monologues about moral regulations."
"Above all, remember to keep a balanced perspective," Kinnaman cautioned. "Some have overstated the problem, while others minimize it. The fact is millions of American teenagers and twentysomethings are alive to God and devoted to His Kingdom."
"But the research is also clear that there are significant issues related to the way young people experience and express their faith. Without objectively and strategically addressing those challenges, Christian leaders will miss the opportunity to awaken many more young souls to a life-long zeal for God."
Read the Barna Report: Twentysomethings and Sexuality and Spirituality
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