Defining Third Age Dave Fenton shares his thoughts on what it means to be in The Third Age... Defining what is meant by ‘Third Age’ may be trickier than you think. It can be seen as an ‘autumn’ period, where life slows down and you have time for all the things you couldn’t do when you were working or bringing up a family. Others see it as a time of fresh opportunity, when there are less unavoidable responsibilities. John Chapman favours the second view: ‘I am 76 years old. You may think it strange that I am thinking about making the most of the rest of my life. Humanly speaking, I don’t have all that much left. The average male lives for 79 years. That doesn’t leave me much time. On the other hand, if there is life after death, if eternity is really eternity and I have the greater bulk of my life to look forward to, then that makes all the difference.’ (John Chapman – ‘Making the most of the rest of your life’)
The stats You may be interested to see a selection of statistics – for example these current and predicted figures taken from ONS figures collected by Age UK:
In 2015 there are 14.9 million people living in the UK who are 60 or over. There are more in this group than those who are under 18. By 2030 this figure is set to pass 2 million. By 2086 about one in three people will be over 60. Department for Work and Pensions figure report that there are now about 14,000 centenarians in the UK. This will rise to around 26,000 in 2012, 65,000 in 2031 and 280,000 in 2051! Nearly one in five people alive today will live until their 100th birthday
In my own city of Winchester, under the banner of ‘Methodist Live at Home’, there is an initiative called ‘Support and Choice for Older People’. Of their 200+ members:
Over half were in the 80 to 89 bracket About one sixth each in the 90+ bracket One sixth in the 70 to 79 bracket One sixth in the 60 to 69 bracket 88 % said they had a free bus pass, although only 40% used it
What are Third Age People like? So what are Third Age people actually like and who are they? There have been varied attempts to ‘define’ them. Some say there are between certain ages (say 65 to 74, although other age bands are also used.) Some use a descriptive phrase like ‘at, or near retirement’. In a report called ‘Ageing in a Consumer Society’ (Policy Press 2008), Third Age people are described as:
Happy to spend money on pleasure and leisure In good health With 10 or 20 years ahead Energetic Possessing particular life-stage world-views – moulded by living through the 1960s The largest 10-year cohort of churchgoers
Many Third Age people are grandparents. Peter Brierley states that there are 750,000 church-going grandparents who each have an average of 4.4 grandchildren.
The ‘SAGA Generation’ The author of a Church Army paper published in 2005, came up with the term ‘SAGA Generation’ – sometimes referred to as the ‘Young-Old’, ‘aged 55-75’, ‘the working active’ and ‘the retired independent’. The SAGA Generation is often defined as those born towards the end of the Second World War, who were teenagers in the 60s and became known as the ‘baby boomers.’
What have they witnessed?
Young families re-populating the country after the war The rise in a general belief that ‘we younger people can make a difference to the world’ The beginning of the welfare state The birth of a permissive culture – the contraceptive pill, easier divorce, changed lifestyles encouraged by film, music and the arts The first ‘TV generation’ The rock/pop years and the rise of mass music festivals A decline of Christian influence in Britain An influx of different cultures and spiritualities into British society A general rise of disposable income available for clothes, leisure activities and home improvements etc. The growth of more affordable family holidays in the UK – initially Butlins, soon followed by the growth of the package holiday Improved standards of living in the home
‘SAGA’ as an organisation, has recognised a gap in the holiday and other markets. They are well organised and know their target audience. They recognise a generation who would ‘come out and fight’ with political and economic clout: the socalled ‘grey-warriors’.
SAGA considers that this generation:
Have better health, more time and energy than the previous generation Are counter-cultural to the stereotypical image of the current age Hold different values to an older age group (fourth generation born in the Thirties or earlier) Are becoming increasingly computer literate Are somewhat ‘anti-institution’ Do not all have disposable income or plenty of time. For instance, many are carers or have chosen to work beyond retirement age
You could summarise this group as a New-Old generation, some of whom never really gave up their youth culture! Perhaps that’s why rock band ‘The Who’ coined the lyric ‘Hope I die before I get old’ in their 1965 album ‘My Generation’.
The Third Age and Christianity Steve Hollinghurst from The Church Army suggests that the SAGA generation is the first generation to enter ‘Post-Christendom’:
About 80% of 90 year olds would have attended church as children. About 30% of 33 year olds would have attended church as children.
Somewhere in the middle of this are the SAGAs. Of those just past 40 about 9% attend church at least monthly, which leaves a huge proportion of this generation knowing little or nothing about the Christian faith.
Twentieth century factors: What are the factors which have created this situation?
The Bible being reduced by literary criticism and scientific enquiry to fabricated myth. Seen as possessing good moral content, but now some of that also being challenged. The devastating effects of the two World Wars on peoples’ mentalities. 1900 - 2000 has been marked out as a century of war, with professional armies. Very few towns and households were untouched by this. Scientific confidence – a widespread shift from believing in a divine being to trusting only in an existing scientific solution. Highlighted by the popularity of Richard Dawkins’ works. The emergence of the ‘teenager’ – ages 13-19 increasingly regarded as the time when people ‘grow-up’. The growth of a counter-culture, based upon ‘love and peace’ – much more widespread than the ‘hippie’ movement. Contraception becoming universally available in the West.
Breaking the ranks... The New-Old born in the 40s and 50s may be seen to have broken ranks – following those born in the 20s who shook off Victorian and Edwardian values. They broke free from parents and longed to ‘stay young’ and not grow old gracefully. My Dad would never have worn a track-suit in his 60s! The SAGAs wanted to break free from their parents’ strongly held values which they were ‘old-fashioned’. This was the time for the affluent young who had ‘never had it so good’ to assert themselves. The new phenomena of experimenting with sex and drugs and rock-‘n-roll along with the new spirituality of rock festivals challenged previously held beliefs and opinions. The peace movement was a rejection of the wars their parents had fought: there was a growing sense of, ‘We are the survivors and it’s going to be different now.’
People older than the SAGA generation increasingly felt that their values, thoughts and memories were no longer seen to be important. The Church now seemed to them be about ‘being modern’, but they yearned to hold on to their security in traditional forms of worship. That is one reason why so many churches today are populated by older people, as it is one place their values would be kept. The SAGA generation are looking for spirituality and experience through their own choices, rather than by submitting to received knowledge and dogma. It’s what works for them, so many SAGAs have looked into cults, astrology and New Age. Summary of the SAGA generation
They saw how a more humanistic secular mindset overtook the default Christian faith of the nation and embraced modernity. They grew old but ‘kept rocking’ – unlike the generation before them. Their grandchildren still buy their music, wear their clothes and are influenced by their values. Perhaps many of them might come back to a church that felt like a good rock concert. Others are likely to be spiritual leaders open to New Age style faith, who are looking for churches that reflect that culture.
Different groups… To make matters more interesting, you could divide them into four general groups. Of course this is only one way of analysing this fascinating generation and there are many in these age ranges who would not match these profiles: Group
Younger old
Third Age
Age Activity
55-64 Employed
65-74 Retired
Sufficiency
Earning a salary In leadership
Church-life Sense of belonging
43%
(Peter Brierley – Christian Research)
Active frail
Inactive frail
75-84 85+ Enjoying being Confined to home a grandparent Travelling with Loss of spouse Increasing SAGA dependency Supporting role May need help Only attend on to get there special occasions 34% 28% 19%
Things to note:
The sense of belonging may diminish as age advances Some may feel an increasing sense of being ‘useless’ or even ‘invisible’
A summary comparison of the likely cultural differences between SAGA Generation and Senior Generation is provided below. These factors are useful to consider when deciding how best to engage people of these generations in ministry and various activities: SAGA generation (born late ‘40’s/early ‘50s) SOCIOLOGICAL Post modern Like to use their gifts – creative Non institutional Non- committal – e.g. marriage Relative morality Global worldview VIEW OF TRUTH Non churched Spiritual Experience counts rather than truth PSYCHOLOGICAL Think for themselves What am I feeling? Narcissistic Choice is important PERSONAL Multi choices are important Live in the present Pop music culture Multi-skilled Becoming computer literate Money and time rich
SENIOR generation (born before Second World War) SOCIOLOGICAL Modern Work and skills pre-determined Expect institutional structures Loyal and committed Sense of right and wrong Nationalistic VIEW OF TRUTH De churched Religious Meta narrative and truth important PSYCHOLOGICAL Told what to think What am I doing? Altruistic Choice is confusing PERSONAL Choice confusing Remembering the past is important Folk songs and those from the wars Specialised skills – a trade for life Technology difficult to grasp Money and time poor
Moving Forward So how should the Church serve and be served by the SAGA, Third Age, olderactive generation in Britain today? Many have a considerable wealth of wisdom and experience of living in one of the most rapidly changing periods of history. They have many complex needs but also a great heritage to pass on to the generations following them. For those who are Christians our prayer is that they will find the Lord’s purpose, power and peace in the active years still left for them. And on into the future too, for even when strength diminishes and health begins to fail He is able to use us in the Kingdom of God.