Fox Nation host Lawrence Jones weighed in on a recent study finding that millennials don’t value patriotism, family and religion as passionately as previous generations, and Jones believes that liberal ideology may be behind the shift.
"I’m not saying liberals aren’t patriotic," explained Jones, "but it does seem to be this bent when it comes to liberals today where, although we may be upset with certain issues that may be happening in the country, I still believe that many of us still are proud to be Americans as well...but it seems with on the liberal perspective -- from the liberal point of view -- is that we should be upset with America. because America is the problem [and] not the bad people in America that are not living up to the values that America stands for."
MILLENIALS CARE LESS ABOUT PATRIOTISM, RELIGION, AND FAMILY THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS
On "Keeping Up with Jones," Jones said he wasn't surprised by the study's finding, pointing to the prevalence of liberal ideologies on college campuses. Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov joined Jones for a heated debate on the matter.
"We have a group of young people that just don't want to believe at this point, they just want to be more spiritual...they don't believe in a higher being to accomplish things and get them through their battles...they've essentially given up," said Jones, saying he found Millenials' acceptance of spirituality as opposed to religion to be "almost narcissistic."
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"I don’t think that turning to spirituality means that you’ve given up," responded Tarlov. "I think it means that you’ve found an alternate route to comfort and community. I think what’s important is that people are finding communities and support structures, and that’s really what organized religion gives you, right? That you know you can always go to church, or to the mosque, or to temple if you are hungry, if you are sick, if you are tired. And I think if people can find that in another way, that’s totally fine," argued Tarlov.
Tarlov also apportioned some of the blame to moral and religious leaders, saying many young people have a hard time connecting to those that "interpret God's word," because of occasional scandals in their midst.
"I believe that there is a big responsibility for our leaders and our faith-based leaders, that they should have and they should be very cautious of the word because there are young people that are watching them," responded Jones.
"I never said “I’m done with God” because of those bad people, and I feel like young people are doing that today because, you’re right, there are all these imperfect people – there are people in the church that are molesting children -- and they need to be held accountable for it. But if you believe in those people, then maybe you never knew what faith was. Because it was never supposed to be about those people. They were just people that were interpreting God’s word," said Jones.
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Jones also blamed society for becoming "self-absorbed" and prioritizing other factors over having children and starting a family.
"Young people are like, “You know what – screw this kid thing. We’re gonna travel the world – and it’s gonna be fun," he said.
Tarlov argued that the decrease in birth rate stems not only from a career or a "self-absorbed" perspective, but from a fear of "what kind of world women are bringing their children into."
For Jones's response and for the full episode of the heated exchange where Jones and Tarlov delve into the issues affecting young people in society, watch the episode of "Keeping up with Jones" on Fox Nation today.
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