Donna Freitas

Donna Freitas

Assistant Professor of Religion, Boston University

Donna Freitas is Assistant Professor of Religion at Boston University. The "On Faith" panelist's literary and academic focus is the struggle of belonging and alienation with regard to faith, particularly among young adults, and especially young women. Freitas asks the 'Big Questions' (Why are we here anyway?) and delights in discovering the many forums in which to dabble with faith, religion, spirituality, and gender. A Catholic, she also is an ardent feminist. Her books include Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us, (2005) and Save the Date: A Spirituality of Dating, Love, Dinner & the Divine. Freitas' most recent book project is Sex and the Soul, set for publication in 2007. It is based on a national study about the influence of sexuality and romantic relationships on the spiritual identities of America 's college students. Freitas' first novel, The Possibilities of Sainthood, which is about 15-year Antonia Lucia Labella, who aspires to become the first official living saint in Catholic history, is due for publication in 2008. Freitas can be reached through her website at www.donnafreitas.com. Close.

Donna Freitas

Assistant Professor of Religion, Boston University

Donna Freitas is Assistant Professor of Religion at Boston University. The "On Faith" panelist's literary and academic focus is the struggle of belonging and alienation with regard to faith, particularly among young adults, and especially young women. Freitas asks the 'Big Questions' (Why are we here anyway?) and delights in discovering the many forums in which to dabble with faith, religion, spirituality, and gender. more »

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Young Adults Already Know

Catholic youth, especially, are alienated from a faith tradition and hierarchy that they see as “out of touch” and frankly, rather disinterested in what they deal with in reality on an everyday basis—especially when it comes to sex, romance, and dating.

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All Comments (10)

Keep hoping.:

I'll bet your Pagan ceremonies are a lot more interesting than anything at Notre Dame or St Paul's. But lookout! They're singing and dancing and praising the Lord God of Israel at the latest thing, mega churches.

Mega churches are like Disneyland only they bring it to you. Disney is on TV too. There's a lot to be said for convenient. Your gang needs to advertise a little more, get your own TV network etc. What with the delicate nature of the economy there's bound to be a lot of folks looking for 'cheaper' entertainment.

If they would only allow human sacrifice. Keep hoping for there's a few people the mob would like to see thrown into a pot of boiling something. In this world of government of the people, by the people and for the people it's never the people's fault. "Don't blame me I voted for Gravel."

Paganplace:

I think the Catholic and perhaps other theoretically-moderate churches may be feeling the effects of the *polarization* of religion and politics, here in America: as they align themselves more with political conservatism: in the process, they're both alienating a lot of liberals and moderates and priming their own conservatives for what fundamentalism's selling.

Of course, I suppose that's been going on a while, too.

Betsy:


Youth will have its day, yah? And where do the youngsters, the babies come from? Where have they been that they have such a fresh approach to life? Ask yourself...where do they get this fresh outlook? Wherever it is must be pretty neat, pretty wonderful, hopeful, nurturing.

Those of us who have been in incarnation for some time have been so conditioned by the old dogmas that many of us can't even discuss new ideas without arguing against them. If we indocrinate the young, they become spiritually alienated...get into drugs and the culture of death which is the refuge of the hopeless. Let's give them the freedom to look around and to decide for themselves what is true and what is not. Let them ask questions, challenge accepted ideas, have the confidence to think for themselves and make their own decisions.
see www.justice4peace.org

Rich:

Catholics are likely to be defensive about any criticism on account of their universally shared family experiences of ethnic and religious discrimination in the era of immigration. In order to move the discussion out of that place ex-Catholics like myself need to be the ones to say it: the male-only clergy of the church is totally out of touch with the modern world and can't save the church unless they fundamentally change it, soon. As an atheist I (with a dozen years of Catholic school under my belt) I have no particular bias toward or hostility against the church, but the loss for Christianity as a whole in the decline of the church is that it is the last bastion of socialist practice of the religion, and Christianity if practiced properly is inherently a socialistic and egalitarian (and non-sexist) religion. Evangelicalism is just another strain of the old protestant error of substituting one's social class values for the inconvenience of a religion that requires you to care about the welfare of others (and again I say that as an atheist with no particular grudge against protestantism)...

drew:

Faith's time is winding down. Modern generations are up to here with the supernatural nonsense of our ancestors. It is all such archaic superstition it's a wonder folks didn't dump it years ago.

The young have access to all kinds of information that was unavailable to our superstitious ancestors.

Even the young in some Muslim countries are saying "enough already".
Freedom is on the march...freedom from the straight-jacket of religious indoctrination.

Hurrah!

felicia:

i think that the person Olivia is way to offensive, but to she needs to realize that the world doesn't always revolve around the catholics. Sorry you feel that way though.

Nichole :

I think that the young adults are starting to finally realize about the importance in believing that spmething is out there and they are more than willing to learn more about it.

Garyd:

Donna,

You can't worship both God and your personal needs any moe than you can worship God and money.

Olivia:

Donna,

You don't seem to realize that Catholicism IS countercultural. Today's youth are unserious and vapid. They want what they want and they want it now. You yourself have bought into the old canard about the Church hierarchy being "out of touch," when you are the one who is "out of touch," with your Church. By the way, evangelicals change faith communities about every five minutes as well as their views on what's right, what doctrines they "believe," etc. Do some more homework.

Olivia:

Donna,

You don't seem to realize that Catholicism IS countercultural. Today's youth are unserious and vapid. They want what they want and they want it now. You yourself have bought into the old canard about the Church hierarchy being "out of touch," when you are the one who is "out of touch," with your Church. By the way, evangelicals change faith communities about every five minutes as well as their views on what's right, what doctrines they "believe," etc. Do some more homework.

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