Thread by @LauraDAllen2

Let’s talk about the recent misrepresentation of the deconstruction movement as solely a “millennial” issue and how this ageism allows the church to escape criticism. 👉🏼 from an ageism researcher and person who is deconstructing religious beliefs 🙂 #deconstruction #ageism

You might be seeing more talk about deconstruction of belief systems, from Christian church leaders or from ppl who are deconstructing themselves. I’ve seen church leaders recently attribute the mvmt to millennials, centering it as a gen. issue from the ‘social justice warriors’

I cannot speak for everyone who is deconstructing and give it a single definition, but I can tell you what it is NOT. It is not millennials getting angry at the church just because we are the “social justice gen” and we believe everything we see on social media

The truth is, at any given time, people of ALL AGES are deconstructing. (@iAmSteveAustin 👇🏼example). AND people in the US have been deconstructing beliefs for DECADES.

The prob. is, those middle aged ppl / Boomers who left church were labeled as experiencing “church hurt” or a “midlife crisis.” I watched it happen in my own family.

When people started questioning or criticizing in our churches before social media and the internet, the church (incl. me at the time) chalked it up to ageist stereotypes, just like they are now.

The focus is now on millennials bec we are more connected than previous gens. We have more resources available like books & podcasts on the topics we’re questioning. And w/ this newfound community, we have the confidence to explore those Q’s and be vocal about them.

Putting age at the center of the deconstruct. mvmt is a method for the church to reject criticism. Of the boomers ‘in crisis’ or the ‘angry millennials’ on soc media, the church can say “those ppl don’t represent us.” And they can use these ageist stereotypes to back their claims

Putting age at the center of the deconstruction movement delegitimizes the experiences of the people who have Q’s, doubts. People who realize they no longer believe or experiences changes in their core beliefs. People of ALL AGES.

And, it not only delegitimizes the experiences of people who YES were indeed HURT by the church, but it allows the church to continue on and say “ah, those millennials, they’re just angry and too worldly” instead of owning up to the wrongdoing, abuse, and harm they caused.

Here are others (of all ages !!) talking about ‘deconstruction’ that I would recommend: @GodisGreyxo @DirtyRottenCK @nakedpastor @jamieleefinch @phildrysdale