Young, Woke and Christian: Words from a Missing Generation

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Victoria Turner is a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh in World Christianity exploring the relationship between colonialism, class and mission. Next, Molly Boot’s chapter tenderly and powerfully reconsiders our own relationship with our bodies. They move away from the objectification of the body as ‘it’. Rather, they remind us that our bodies are interwoven with our mind and spirit. Hence, our bodies are worth attending to with our Christian faith, our practices, and with a special concern for purity culture. Every single chapter of this astonishing book should be read, especially by those who lead churches. It is easy for churches, led generally speaking by those over 40, to forget to consult the young people of their church, to assume what their faith looks like or contains, to speak over and, undermine them.

For preachers reading this book, it contains a wealth of personal stories and experiences that invite us to consider these topics from a new angle. We were all young once and yet the world has moved on and we can no longer presume we know what it feels to be ‘young, woke and Christian’” Each chapter also provides useful further reading within the notes for those who are interested. Molly wrote a chapter on purity culture and how the church has traditionally denigrated sexual desire, with “oppression against especially young people and controlling young people’s freedom and sexuality”. The final chapter of Strachan's book considers the reality of American history, specifically slavery and the civil rights movement. He concludes with recommendations for how Christians can respond to woke ideology in a biblical way, reminding his readers: "We cannot fall silent. We cannot stand by as people around us are taken captive by wokeness or any ungodly ideology." We’re trying to help the church align itself with the eyes of someone who lives under the boundaries, the liberation theology idea,” she said.Young, Woke and Christian’ brings together young church leaders and theologians who argue that the church needs to become increasingly awake to injustices in British society. It steers away from the capitalistic marketing ideas of how to attract young people into Christian fellowship and proclaims that the church’s role in society is to serve society, give voice to the marginalised and stand up to damaging, dominating power structures. Covering themes such as climate change, racial inclusivity, sexual purity, homelessness, food poverty, sexuality, trans identity, feminism, peace-making, interfaith relations, and disability justice, the collection is a cry for the reform of the church to not ally with ‘woke’ issues because they are popular with youth, but because they are gospel issues. Young, Woke and Christian' brings together young church leaders and theologians who argue that the church needs to become increasingly awake to injustices in British society. It steers away from the capitalistic marketing ideas of how to attract young people into Christian fellowship and proclaims that the church's role in society is to serve society, give voice to the marginalised and stand up to damaging, dominating power structures. Victoria Turner wrote in her editor’s preface that the 2017 and 2019 campaigns by Jeremy Corbyn had sparked the woke movement in the UK. She was among the ‘Corbynistas’ who followed him and describes a rally as like a charismatic religious experience. The deflation when Labour lost was mixed with a feeling of betrayal that the older generation had let them down. That this is a book the church needs to take note of is clear. There is no claim to be the only missing generation, but they are, if we are honest, the generation of active, articulate, educated and enthusiastic young adults that most churches profess to wanting to attract after the usual ‘we want more children’ comment.

Professor Reddie wished the book had been written 30 years ago when he was a young man and experienced feeling invisible in the church. He said to the contributors: “Good on you. Just speak out and be yourself.” I think it’s almost a call to arms to the suffragettes to those of us who can no longer be peaceful, to those of us who can no longer sit in that dialogue and be not spoken down to, but not fully listened to you either” – Anna Twomlow Liz Marsh is a PhD student in Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Edinburgh, focussing on the theology of hope in the context of ecological crisis. When seeking “fuel to the fire”, Molly looked to medieval spirituality and patristic authors and said there were radical threads in orthodox and traditional Christianity that were untapped. Young Christians who feel marginalised, not listened to, powerless, and even oppressed within the church, have been given a voice in a new explosive book.In the opening contribution, Liz Marsh recommends how we should respond theologically to the climate crisis. She draws upon themes of hopelessness, exposing our own arrogance, and our accounts of hope needing to be reimagined in our relationships with one another, and with the planet in which we live. She offers a beneficial summary for how the Church should respond to many of the issues we face. May we all heed this timely warning and put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-17) to stand firm against all unbiblical ideologies in our day and proclaim the gospel of truth. The chapters are wide ranging. Whilst some feel like old stomping grounds with reflections on interfaith, race and feminism there is something new about this collection. Chapters on the climate, purity culture, trans, food poverty and homelessness push our traditional boundaries and offer something new and distinct. There is little heavy theological language and at times the varied styles could jar but that is also its strength. Each chapter feels owned by its author, from their place, their time and in their own words. At the heart of this book is the sentiment that social justice is a fundamental part of Christianity. Sophie Mitchell’s chapter argues that this must entail interfaith engagement, in which similarities and differences can be discovered, bridges can be built, and a better understanding can be promoted. Breaking from a Christian bubble, Mitchell argues that living out a Christian faith requires working alongside others of all faiths and none, and boldly widens the scope for what counts as social action.

Molly Boot is a theologian, broadcaster and musician. They write and speak on medieval mysticism and the arts, trauma theology, queer theology and neurodiversity.

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Of course, we should not treat all young Christians as monolithic, just as we wouldn’t with any demographic group. There are many young Christians within the Church who disagree strongly with the expression of faith found in this book. Yet it is important that these perspectives are heard in the Church, as they are too-often silenced by orthodoxy for fear of the so-called ‘woke agenda’. Comprised of a breadth of voices, Victoria Turner’s Young, Woke and Christian offers prophetic words that promise to lead readers from experience and theological reflection to decisive action. Each contributor offers a fresh response to a current crisis that weighs heavily on the shoulders of young people, even if it is often overlooked by the Church. This book successfully brings together voices that passionately cry out for a truly integrated Church – one seeking truth and justice; one that cares for the world that it inhabits; and one that cares for all people with whom that world is shared. Annie Sharples concludes the book by focussing on personal, social, and political peace. This chapter aptly connects all of the chapters that precede it. For these young voices have all promoted peace in some way. Fear of the other is, she comments, what most of all threatens peace (p. 165). Young, Woke and Christian thus attempts to tell the stories of the ‘other’, so as to awaken and educate the wider Christian community. Shermara J. J. Fletcher’s chapter on homelessness is one of the most challenging pieces of writing I’ve read this year. I often think that as well as a ‘top books of the year’, I should write a ‘top chapters’– this would be a strong contender. Fletcher offers a genuinely fascinating chapter, rooted in meaningful theological reflection and practical experience, that opens a door for something that I think a vast majority of Christians simply haven’t thought through. For example: “ The Church should practise Christian diakonia, which is a deeper type of koinonia that describes a community that ‘works for the welfare of all its members as well as helping to build the reign of God throughout the entire world’. This implies that homeless and hungry people should be wholly inside the structures of established churches.” Summary: this is a strong chapter on an issue and question that needs to be engaged with. Young people are often referred to as the church’s ‘missing generation’. But perhaps it is not them that are missing from God’s mission, but the church itself.