Adulthood and Acceptance, with Lingering Trails

Abstract

AbstractEven the most non-religious of the Boomers interviewed expressed a fondness for certain types of ‘religious’ experiences. Attending Christmas carol services, for example, was a non-religious, nostalgic event for many. When Boomers said they missed the music of church, they were not talking about the hymns, whose lyrics made many recoil in distaste, but largely the Baroque period of High-Church choral music typified by Byrd, Purcell, or Tallis. That is perhaps one reason why cathedrals have noted an upsurge in attendance even while there was a downward trend in the parishes. Boomers also at times mentioned the more worrying aspects of their generation’s legacy such as consumerism and materialism. The secular, yet sacred, ritual of occasional cathedral or church carol services may be, at least in part, a way to connect to something less tangible.