Toward the Year 2000: Reconstructions of Religious Space

As we approach the year 2000, there will be much reflection about the nation's religious and spiritual condition. In this article, three domains of American life are singled out as examples of how religious space is being reconstructed by the large portion of the population known as baby boomers. The first is the new religious pluralism of the nation's inner cities, reflecting a global order. Hispanics, Asian immigrants, and people of color are creating new solidarities and forging new religious voices. The second is a shift in institutional alignments between family and religion. These changes have provoked new spiritual concerns arising out of changing family patterns. The third is the new spirituality, generally of the postwar generation, with its emphasis on personal choice, faith exploration, and more holistic ways of thinking. What happens in these spaces will greatly influence the religious trends of the 1990s and of the early years of the next century.