Why Do a Majority of the Young Not Believe in Christianity's "Absolute Truths"

A more logical question might be, why did anyone ever believe such stuff?

Various pundits put forward different theories as to why a majority of the young do not believe in absolutes and instead believe there may be more than one correct view as to the various claims made by the faithful. A common one is that parents did not indoctrinate their children forcefully enough. Another is that preachers did not hammer home the indoctrination to the parents. Neither of these would have helped the faith.  

The dogmatic views about sin, life after death, Jesus' sacrifice, etc. are not bought hook, line and sinker because they are not grounded in sources young people trust. We can start with the preacher/priest sexual scandals. They provide a hint that the industry is not packed full of people who can be trusted.

We can look next at the amount of advertising people are subjected to today. The more advertising, political and commercial, the more sophisticated the consumer becomes about sorting through it all. When people hear the Sunday morning sermon, they hear another form of advertising. Church sounds like one unending infomercial. 

Because of this advertising, children are taught critical thinking. They are taught to question sources and the motives behind what is being told to them. It's not too hard to see self-interest in a breakfast cereal ad that touts its health benefits. Neither is it hard to see the self interest in the priest/preacher telling one how important their message is and why it is important to attend church and donate to it.

These latter reasons for skepticism and lack of interest in the church are never mentioned by the pundits who write about the decline in support of absolutes. It's hard to believe it never occurs to those who write about this that they might be seen as self-serving. Admitting it may be a bridge too far.

I don't see what there is to lose for preachers/priests to simply say, "This material I am preaching about may or may not reflect reality." Or, "when you give money to our church, I get some of it."

The tradition has been to not reveal certain things to those who in the pews who listen. It may be the right time to change.