Why do so many "young" people no longer attend church?  For those who have no interest in church, this is a moot question.  For those who study such matters, it is.  This notwithstanding, however, analyzing why many young people do not attend church says much, not just about the Christian church, but about the state of religion in general today.
     Historically, most of those who participate in a religion, regardless of what that religion might be, have sought to balance tradition and innovation in how they approach and utilize their beliefs.  Too often, however, the scale has been tipped toward tradition. Creativity and innovation are frequently shortchanged.
     God is a vastly creative God.  He is also a God of the new.  Although the "old ways" should not always be summarily dismissed as irrelevant, they can at times impede the input of the future.  They can inhibit the thoughts of new generations.
     For many centuries, the people of Israel had been told to expect a kingdom and Messiah.  Wait, they were encouraged, wait, wait through toil, pain, and disappointment for the revealing of God's bigger plan.
     And one day that plan disclosed itself, disclosed itself in a decidedly unexpected way. Jesus was born.  Here was someone quite new, someone quite radical, someone quite innovative in how he viewed and approached centuries of traditional Jewish theology. Few wanted to believe him, and even fewer wanted to follow him.  The old ways were too comfortable.
     When we wonder why not just young people but Westerners, broadly speaking, no longer associate themselves with religion, we can think about the radical nature of Jesus' message:  it was old, but it was also astonishingly new.  It announced a seminal change in how people were to view God.
     Yet it didn't abandon God.  It rather magnified his wonder and creative power. Properly interpreted, religion can, too.  It must only remember this:  never put God in a box.