Cross generation engagement

Fifty years ago, as a much younger man, I spent two years in India volunteering with IofC. Much of that time was spent with Indian university students. These were often intelligent, well-educated young people. What struck me though was whether, in the future, they would use their abilities and training primarily to just have a nice life for themselves or in some way to serve others and the community. What inspires this deeper motivation?

Some years later, as an Advanced-level mathematics teacher in a UK Comprehensive school, I also became responsible for Sixth Form (aged 16-18) Current Affairs. Once again I became aware of the importance of motivation and purpose in the very able young people I was working with.

Our teams facilitated about 800 sessions in Sixth Forms, often with groups of about 60 to 100 students for an hour. We went to tough inner-city state schools and to privileged independent colleges, interacting with some 50,000 students.

Realism about their perspectives on life are important. In a more recent survey on religious trends in the UK, ‘The British Social Attitudes Survey for England and Wales (Harding, 2017)’ found that: ‘Among 18–24-year-olds, the answer ‘none’ (no religion) was given by 71%, compared with 27% of those of 75 years or over.’ How many of the 73% of my generation who identify with formal religion have really taken on board that 71% of the younger generation don’t? An almost complete reversal.

Is it Christian?

Sometimes people have asked me whether this schools programme is Christian. I wonder sometimes what Jesus would have done had he been facilitating school sessions in the twenty first century. When he lived, two thousand years ago, it was largely accepted that people believed in, and had a particular image of, God. So, his mission was basically to challenge/inspire them to obey God. In the present day, the great majority of students don’t think that way. So, would Jesus primarily try to persuade them to ‘believe’ in a particular perception of God. Or would he engage in a way that inspired them to be true to their deeper inner leading, with integrity and compassion? That is my aim. People can judge for themselves whether that is obeying God, or makes it a Christian programme. But to me this is a fundamental question for people like me to ponder if we wish to engage with young people, many of whom are turned off by attempts to convince them about religious beliefs.

The following two sections, recount experiences from two different years of this programme.