Christian and Edgy

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Beliefs/story?id=1403056

Being devoutly religious doesn't preclude being edgy, say many Christian teens. Andrea Machlan, 17, of Fort Wayne, Ind., is a devout Christian but also part of what she calls the "hard-core scene." She and her friends are into tattoos, piercings and heavy-rock music.

"A lot of those lines are really blurred between Christian and non-Christian," she said, especially when it comes to music. Machlan says she and her group of friends are open to all sorts of people.

Wendy Schuman, an editor at Beliefnet.com, says that faith is a lot more nuanced for many teens than it is for their elders, especially when it comes to hot-button topics like abortion and homosexuality. "They don't always tow the party line," she said. "They can't see Christian faith quite as monolithic as it might seem. There's a huge middle ground."
But Machlan admits that some teens "latch on to Christianity … like it's a fad."

"It's an alternative to partying, so there is a way out for kids who don't want to be in the party scene but want cool friends," she said. "It's a safe environment, there's the relaxation of knowing there's not going to be those pressures of drugs, alcohol, sex."

Schuman said that while the baby-boom generation shunned the rules and restrictions of religion, young people today were looking for something to hold on to. She said college students seemed to be becoming more religious as well, as more choose to attend religious schools or join faith-based groups on secular campuses.

I have long wondered how it would feel if the popular culture adopted religion at some very low denominator. Some sort of safe haven without struggle. A large middle ground that could then be claimed as trendy, comfortable, and of course “saved”.
I hope the Holy Spirit can work with these youth so that their journey is rigorous, long, and for some, eventually Catholic.