Millennials: One Major Difference from the Boomers

Sam Rainer

The Pew Research Center released the following comparison between the Boomer generation and the Millennial generation:

If one were to assume that the Millennial generation, like the famously-large Baby Boomer generation, encompasses everyone born over an 18-year span, the two generations would be about equal in size (77 million). However, this is not because fertility rates in recent times have been especially high — they were about 70% higher during the baby boom from 1946 to 1964 — but because population growth, including a big wave of immigration since then, has added more women of child-bearing age. As a result, the Millennial generation is more ethnically diverse, including about twice as many persons of Hispanic origin (19% of all Millennials) as did the Boomer generation (10%).

This report is nothing new, but every time I read about younger generations, I am reminded of how ethnic heterogeneity will become normative. If we are going to reach this generation, then we must do more than simply have a welcoming attitude towards diversity. We’ve got to be intentional about growing churches with a culture of heterogeneity. A great opportunity exists to make a visible–and generational–statement about unity in diversity through the body of Christ. I’m excited about seeing how this shift is accomplished in churches across our country.

You can read more about Pew’s research on the Millennial generation here.