Report prompts challenge to live Christian identity

A New Zealand Catholic theologian has challenged people in the Church to live in a way that is consistent with their identity as Christians, after a new report showed that many people could be interested in faith and spirituality if they witness people living as good examples of these.

Dr Rocio Figueroa, who lectures at Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological Institute in Auckland, wrote a commentary in the The Faith and Belief in New Zealand Report 2023, which was released in November.

The report is “the collation of quantitative and qualitative data gained through an online survey of 1009 people aged 18-77 who live in Aotearoa New Zealand, representative by age, gender, and location, with a representative sample of those from a Māori and Pasifika background”. The survey was held from May 19 – June 2. There were also four focus groups of people of various age groups.

Dr Figueroa noted that 31 per cent of respondents consider themselves Christians, and a further 26 per cent are warm toward Christianity, aligning to some extent with Christian claims and/or values.

“There are many in our society who will be looking to the church to live in a way that is consistent with our identity. These statistics should encourage us to do so,” Dr Figueroa wrote.

“The report also highlights a 96 per cent level of familiarity with Jesus’ life,” she added.

“People feel positively toward Jesus in Aotearoa New Zealand, describing him as loving, caring, kind, and faithful. This should further encourage us to consider the values that people in this country hold most dear, and the need for us to reflect who Jesus is, not just as individuals, but also as Christian communities.”

Overall, the report found that people living in Aotearoa New Zealand value authenticity, with 66 per cent of respondents being attracted to explore spirituality if they see people living out a genuine faith or spirituality first-hand.

Almost half of participants in the research already practice or identify with a religion (49 per cent). This includes Christianity (39 per cent), Hinduism (3 per cent), Māori spirituality, beliefs, and philosophies (2 per cent), Buddhism (2 per cent), Islam (2 per cent), Sikhism (1 per cent), and Judaism (0.2 per cent). A further 19 per cent have spiritual beliefs, but don’t identify with any religion, and 30 per cent don’t identify with any religion or spiritual belief at all. Those with Asian ethnicity (74 per cent) and Pacific Peoples (70 per cent) are more likely than Māori (46 per cent) or Pākehā (39 per cent) to be religious.

When analysed on the basis of age groups (Generation Z is aged 18-28; Generation Y is aged 29-43; Generation X is aged 44-58 and Baby Boomers are aged 59-77), the survey found that Baby Boomers are the most likely generation to believe that there is an ultimate purpose in life (45 per cent). Gen Z was only 30 per cent for this belief, the lowest percentage.

At the same time, Gen Z was comparatively open to spirituality or religion, as they were the least likely to identify with no religion or spirituality, followed closely by Baby Boomers.

People living in Aotearoa New Zealand are also “warm” towards Christianity, the report found. This comes from three in ten who consider themselves to be Christian, and a further 26 per cent who are warm towards Christianity, aligning to some extent with its claims or values.

Those considered to be “warm” toward Christianity were highest among Gen Z at 30 per cent. (Gen Y was 28 per cent, Gen X 24 per cent and Baby Boomers 25 per cent.)

Commenting on the age group results, Villette Iosefa-Lowe, a well-being coordinator/chaplain at Parachute Music, noted that Gen Z have grown up as digital natives, absorbing a great deal of information through social media, a lot of it about catastrophes and crises in the world, so a finding that 70 per cent of them don’t see an ultimate purpose in life is not surprising.

“Navigating these issues as young people is extremely difficult, as most of us do not have the processing and coping mechanisms that wisdom, age, and experience grants Gen Y, X, and Baby Boomers. Gen Z are left feeling hopeless, unsure of how to process a persistent fear that our world is doomed. There might be a connection between this fear and sense of hopelessness, and a feeling of not having a purpose in life,” Ms Iosefa-Lowe wrote.

But she added that “Gen Z are the most likely generation to explore spirituality because of authentic stories or testimonies from people of faith”, and therefore “it is extremely important that older generations see their beliefs and faith as a legacy to be passed on”.

Looking at the results overall, Professor Peter Lineham, Professor Emeritus of History, Massey University, said that, in some ways, “none of the findings are strikingly new”.

“Aotearoa New Zealand sits alongside many affluent Western societies in their preoccupation with well-being, and limited concern for problems in the wider world until they threaten to disturb that well-being,” Professor Lineham said.

At the same time, he added that “we need to keep a careful watch on reactions to the church. We need to reflect on the proportion of people who were raised in the church and have left it. While they may be interested in spirituality, they will be selective in terms of where it is received”.

Dr Figueroa noted that a finding in the report was that 75 per cent of respondents are attracted to investigating faith or spirituality further, if they were to experience a personal trauma or a significant life change.

“This shows how important it is in any church context to have a trauma-informed framework. If we are called to build the Kingdom of God, it is essential to shed light on those sufferings that persist with long-term consequences, harming children, young people and adults, without distinction,” Dr Figueroa wrote.

“The fact that the most likely way that people have encountered Christianity is through a friend or family member who is Christian (63 per cent), shows how Christians, in their daily lives, need to respond to, and support, those who are affected by trauma, and are trying to find meaning in that experience. Trauma is not solely a topic for psychologists; it is also a challenge for any Christian, in terms of how to talk about God, faith, and hope, with someone who is suffering or has suffered from trauma.”