000			02458nam a22001817a 4500
005			20220301063809.0
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008			160808s2007 sa ||||fom| | 00| e eng d
040			_cZA-BrSAT
100			_980 _aGurney, Nadine
245			_aWhy School Leavers Abandon the Church
260			_aJohannesburg, South Africa _bSouth African Theological Seminary
300			_a143p _bPDF _cA4 _eSummary. Table of contents. Bibliography
502			_bMaster of Theology _cSouth African Theological Seminary _d2007 _gDr Willem Semmelink
520			_aThe Church is currently faced with a huge dilemma in that many young adults leave the Church post adolescence. To many of them the experience of attending church is tedious and passé; they feel there is a clash between their ideologies and that of the Church. Several of the respondents attended Sunday school, youth and church when they were still in school. The purpose of this study is an attempt to investigate the reasons why high school graduates extricate themselves from the Church, not only as a global phenomenon but particularly within South Africa. An empirical, quantitative, deductive research approach was undertaken, using an attitudinal survey method. The total number of respondents who participated in this study consisted of one hundred individuals. Respondents had to meet the following requirements: they had to be young adults between the ages of eighteen to twenty-three years, attending a tertiary institute and who were faithful church/youth goers until they left High School. Two of the strongest factors determining why those respondents in this study who left the church did so, where the following: firstly as a result of being put off by hypocritical Christians and secondly finding church or church activities boring. Despite changing social context the Word of God is an unchangeable standard, this study therefore applied elevant scriptural texts to each individual cases. This research study concluded with a summary of the research findings and proposed practical steps that the Church could take in order to curb the dilemma of individuals abandoning the Church after high school. Each recommendation was outlined in detail in order to contribute to the field of Practical Theology
650		0	_974 _aChristian education _xChurch _zSouth Africa
942			_2ddc _cTHE
999			_c28 _d28