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Faith & CultureMay 14, 2026
Gen Z's Lack of Rites of Passage May Be a Bigger Spiritual Problem Than We Realize
Christianity Today's conversation with Douglas McKelvey reveals a void: young adults crossing into adulthood without spiritual markers or communal witness.
On May 7, Christianity Today ran a Q&A with Douglas McKelvey centered on the idea that young adults are navigating enormous transitions without enough cultural or spiritual markers.
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3 Takeaways
- The absence of rites of passage creates spiritual confusion.
- Modern culture offers counterfeit initiations that rarely stabilize identity.
- The church should recover the art of marking meaningful thresholds.
Bottom line: Gen Z's lack of rites of passage is a spiritual formation issue, and the church should be doing far more to help younger adults cross into meaningful life stages.
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