The Barna Group examined one of the largest gaps in the moral persuasions of Americans: the difference between those in their twenties and thirties (an age group comprised primarily of the so-called "Buster" generation) and those over the age of 40. 

• "Busters" are those born between the years of 1965 and 1983. Currently, Busters are ages 23 through 41.  
• Sexuality
  • Busters were twice as likely to have viewed sexually explicit movies or videos
    • Two and a half times more likely to report having had a sexual encounter outside of marriage
    • Three times more likely to have viewed sexually graphic content online.
  • More than two-thirds of the generation said that cohabitation and sexual fantasies are morally acceptable behaviors, compared with half of older adults.
• Other Behaviors
  • The study also showed that young adults – especially twentysomethings – were ten times more likely than older adults to download or trade music online illegally.
  • Out of the 16 areas of moral behavior, adults across the generations were equally likely to have given someone "the finger" while driving, to smoke, to buy a lottery ticket, and to place a bet or gamble.
• Views about Morality
  • Busters’ perspectives were no different from that of their elders on three issues: the acceptability of abortion, allowing the "f-word" on broadcast television, and deeming divorce not to be a sin.
  • Nearly half of all pre-Busters said they view moral truth as absolute
    • Only three out of 10 Busters embraced the concept of absolute truth
    • Two-thirds of those over 40 said humans should determine what is right and wrong morally by examining God’s principles
• A Christian Distinctive
  • The research shows that born again Busters – a group defined not based upon self-identification with the "born again" label but based upon their beliefs about Jesus Christ and regarding life after death – were different from non-born again young adults on some issues.
    • The profile of born again Busters was virtually identical to that of non-born again Busters.
    • Born again Busters were much less likely to act in a "moral" manner than were born again adults over 40.
  • In terms of attitudes, the typical pattern was for born again adults over 40 to be most closely aligned with biblical perspectives, followed far behind by other segments, including younger Christians.
    • 33% of born again pre-Busters believe that cohabitation is morally acceptable
    • Among born again Busters nearly twice as many (59%) agreed, representing a majority of young Christian adults.
    • Among non-Christian older adults, 65% concurred, while 80% of non-Christian Busters felt cohabitation was acceptable.

Read full article

View Power Point