Youth – Agents of Change? German Views on a Possible Paradigm Shift

Abstract Young people are traditionally seen as the future of church and society, as “agents of change.”1 In Europe one might be reminded of the fundamental change during the late 1960s, when mainly students formed demonstrations induced by the Vietnam war and the downsides of the bourgeois structures of society during the post ww ii -period. These experiences formed an image of youth that grounded research in sociology, psychology, and pedagogy for a long period of time and still seem to influence actual thinking and talking about youth. But is this view still appropriate? Are young people of today still “agents of change”? In the following, this image shall be contrasted with recent findings from Germany which indicate a change, a possible paradigm shift, regarding political interest, relations between generations and finally the role of youth ministry as a possible companion for young people in the middle of a changing society – and even the entire world – facing fundamental tasks.