Recently, there's been a lot of talk about young people, specifically millennials and Gen Z, leaving the church in droves, or just not associating with religion to begin with. And there's a lot of obvious reasons for that decline. Younger generations tend to be more empathetic towards marginalized people, so things like LGBTQ rights and social justice are very important to young people nowadays. But one factor that I want to bring to light is the fact that a large reason why people subscribe to religion to begin with, and go to church regularly back in the old days, was because church was very central to your community. Going to church meant that you and your community had something to go to on a regular basis, somewhere you can see your friends and neighbors and co-workers, and it really gave you a sense of community, because humans are very, very social creatures. They want to fit in and be liked more than anything, and church provided an outlet for you to regularly connect with people in your community and gain favor and feel like you belong in a community. But recently, with the rise in technology like internet access and smartphones, younger people are finding that sense of community that people have been craving throughout all of human history in online communities, and connecting with friends that they otherwise would have never met online. Think the rise in pop culture, like celebrity culture, musical artists, things like that. People find just as much fulfillment going to a Taylor Swift concert, if not more, than if they were to go to church, you know what I'm saying? Young people have found that sense of community that church used to offer, but it's a lot more compatible with their more empathetic values, and I think that's another aspect that people don't really talk about.