Rationale 

After researching how religious values evolved over generations it is evident that older generations are more religious and hold greater religious values than generations that are younger. You might ask why is this important or what purpose does this serve? Well, many older individuals and sociologists are worried about the younger generations saying they’ve lost integrity and they’re way of life because of lack of religious values and religiousness. However, this isn’t the case at all. This generation isn’t lost or in any trouble at all; their lack of religiousness is because of young age and the struggle of finding out who they are. As they mature they will eventually choose what faith they want to affiliate themselves with and create their own values and morals. The main reason for my composition is to show that although today’s generation statistically holds fewer religious values than previous generations, there is nothing to worry about as it occurs in every generation. However, the difference now is that younger people are more socially accepting to spirituality and practicing whatever religion best fits them, not necessarily the one they grew up in. Therefore, younger individuals are focusing on finding what best fits them and that takes time and as they get older they will develop their religious values. I believe that the older generation is overreacting and that they went through this phase too. They were once young and didn’t know if they believed in a religion or not but as they got older they became more religious. It’s a cycle that continues.  

Genre 1: Scientific Journal Abstract 

Numerous studies have proved that older generations are more religious and hold more religious values than younger generations.  The scientific journal Does Religiousness Increase with Age? Age Changes and Generational Differences Over 35 Years showed a study that consisted of 35 years of survey data from 420-four generation households and interviews with a subset of 25 years. Individuals in this study such as 88 year old Kenneth Brigham had this to say, “I believe there is a higher entity, sort of bird-dogging you, watching you, and [so] you’ve got to be a good person”(Harris 372). Along with many other individuals in the study Kenneth is a religious man (nondenominational Christian) and a person of great age. Since Kenneth is religious there are values that he upholds which is being a good person. There are then those from younger generations such as 33 year old Noah Shepard who says, “I would like to get more spiritual. I feel that graduate school is sort of forcing me out of my religious awareness and my spiritual centeredness” (Harris 373). Noah admits that he currently isn’t religious or spiritual as many others in his generation or younger admit too. However, he blames this on his academic studies and other inconveniences in his life, but he plans to become more spiritual as learning Buddhism to better himself.  Therefore, the results prove that older generations are more religious and hold more religious values than younger generations. Although this is true it is not a horrible thing. Most individuals in younger generations from Millennials to Generation Z aren’t religious because they are focused on life duties and other matters. Meaning if the trend continues as it has for years they will become more religious with age as many people find their faith with age. But for those who aren’t religious they usually take the route of spirituality which allows them to explore other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. This makes you think, is this a generational problem or an age problem? The answer is both the decrease in religiousness and religious value is because of both young age and the shift to spirituality and exploration of other religions. Younger people in general usually go through a time where they try to find out who they are and what they’re meaning to life and in younger generations they have more options to explore. In the end although the topic statement is true there is no need to worry with time younger people will choose their own faith and have their own values it’s merely a cycle that repeats itself. 

Genre: The genre I used to convey my composition is an abstract. I chose an abstract since it is a brief synopsis of my research paper that provides a concise yet comprehensive overview. 

Purpose: My scientific abstract aims to persuade my audience that, while younger generations are scientifically less religious and embrace less religious values in their daily lives, this is not a cause for alarm.

Audience: My intended audience for this genre are sociologists and older individuals. This genre will appeal to my audience because sociologists are scientists and this is an abstract of a scientific research paper which would catch their interests. Sociologists study human interactions in a society. In addition, this will appeal to older people as they enjoy reading and an abstract is a short detailed summary that you can find anywhere such as a newspaper. It will especially catch their eye because older people tend to have the idea that younger generations lack religion, morals, and values and this abstract can potentially change their perspective. Their perspective may change because the abstract begins by admitting that younger generations are less religious but then explains why that is so and how it is nothing to worry about.  

Stance: My stance on this genre is passionate as a member of Generation Z. I believe older individuals see us as the lost generation and usually attack our integrity. Therefore, in this genre I showed the perspective of  not only an older person but a younger one and why he isn’t as religious as he wants to be. However, he, as most others in today’s generation, is trying to find out who he is and where he belongs spiritually and/or religiously. With time our generation will find who we are and create our own morals and values. 

Genre 2: Social Media Post 

Genre: The second genre I used was a twitter social media post. I chose this as a genre as everyone uses social media no matter what age or profession so everyone can see it. 

Purpose: The purpose of my genre is to show the perspective of a young individual. The question “Am I losing my religiousness or am I finding my purpose?” means my lack of religious practices or values shouldn’t be a judgement of my character. However, it is the result of me finding my purpose so I can have religious values and practices that I believe in and I can comfortably express.  

Audience: My targeted audience for this was everyone whether you’re old or young sociologist or psychologist just anyone interested in seeing the perspective of many young individuals. The genre will allow the audience to think deeply about the question. Through social media posts they can like, comment, share, retweet, or whatever to help them share their opinions or learn more about the topic at hand.  

Stance: My stance on my genre is insightful and expressive. Despite the fact that it is a simple question, there is a great deal that could be said about it and expressed from distinct viewpoints. This question, in my opinion, is an excellent way to start writing a substantial amount of data.