mars-z.org

World Youth Day 'irrelevant': survey

Young Australians have spoken out against the Catholic Church in an online poll.

In the survey, conducted on MySpace.com, 77 per cent of 650 young Australians polled said they felt the church was out of touch with them.

For non-Catholic and non-Christian youth aged between 14 and 24 who were questioned on topics relating to World Youth Day and the teachings of the Catholic Church, 65 per cent said the event was not relevant to them at all. Fifty-three per cent of Catholic youth said they could not be involved in the international religious gathering because of the churches’ stance on sexuality.

The purpose of the event and its title drew ire from 17 year-old Queenslander Kelsey-Lee.

“Sure, have the ‘day’, just make sure you call it World Catholic Youth Day, and don’t waste so much money on (an) event that could be much better spent elsewhere,” she said.

“I think it’s stupid that so much money has been spent on something religious when the state and religion are supposed to be separated.”