The number of youngsters attending the Church in the US has been decreasing steadily since the middle of last century. In an age where science is rapidly replacing religion as the means to satisfy oneself, adolescents and young adults are drifting farther and farther away from religion. And to combat this drift and reach out to the younger generation, the age-old Church has now come up a modern solution.
Halo 3 is an ultra-violent video game that centers on a space epic in which aliens are obstinate in destroying the Earth and the major fraction of the galaxy. The game has already made a sale of more than $300 million since its launch two weeks ago but the ‘M’ rated video game, that is meant only for those above 17years, is hardly a tool that a Church would employ for its own purpose.
Instead of rebuking technology and the manufacturers for once again releasing a video game that depicts killing and violence, churches across the United States, and even some evangelical ones, have started to embrace this video game. The priests and the pastors are allowing sessions to be held when young boys even under the age of 17 years come and play Microsoft’s new game. They defend their policy by saying that after the playing session is over, these kids are given lectures on stopping violence and accepting religion as a source of moral salvation and spiritual fulfillment. But whether those preaching penetrate the mind of the youngsters remains to be judged.
The Church says that the policy to allow children play the video game is actually a way to reach out to the younger generation who grow up devoid of any religious attachment. The policy is indeed hard to grasp since the violence illustrated in the video game is in direct contradiction to the peace that the Church advocates and those against the policy have raised this particular concern.
That the younger generation is shunning the importance of the Church is a vital issue, the Church needs to address, but the approach towards the objective has to change. The connection between faith and video games is something that escapes the intellect of the sensible. There are several better ways to inspire the young people to attend Church services than dangling the carrot of video games in front of them.
Image Source: Geethink
Source: The Telegraph, UK
