Members of the Diocesan Apostolate for Youth Ministry in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese recently studied the cultural profile of American adolescents.
Common adolescent "religious" beliefs, that lie at the core of adolescent values and behavior:
83% of adolescents believe that moral truth depends on the circumstances
"I am entitled to think or feel whatever I want"
"I am utterly powerless to change the way I feel or think"
"You have no right to tell me that I think wrongly or act wrongly ... however, I have every right to do so, depending on how I feel, to tell you that you are wrong"
"If I am hungry, I must eat ... if I am sexually aroused, I must be fulfilled ... if I feel pain, I must vanquish it and self-medicate at all costs"
"Only when I am excited do I know that I am alive, and when I am excited, the future (which I hate) no longer exists"
Some very disturbing comments that probably explain the state of "youth culture" in this country.