Challenge: large numbers of Christian monks in our generation

Hi!

I'm getting the impression that most monks and nuns nowadays are elderly and there aren't many of them. How can we make it so many more young people join their ranks?
 
I suspect that, for several generations, the most important "recruiting sergeants" for religious orders were the monks and nuns who taught in schools. Thus, if you are looking for a point of departure in a given place that would prevent a drop in such vocations, one place to look would be the moment when large numbers of secular schools were established.
 
Celibacy is not a preferred lifestyle in these days. Note that (Roman Catholic) priests are declining in numbers and aging quickly, and they have a 'job' to do.

Also, religious fervour has dropped massively since, say, the 50s, and churches as a social institution have also lost strength.

To keep up the numbers of nuns and monks, you might well need to remove much of the secularization of the last half century.

Maybe the Cuban Missile crisis goes hot, and the Church (churches) are in the forefront of reconstruction and disaster aid. Having celibate religious willing to go into hot zones without fear of what it might do to their kids, might significantly raise the profile of the monastic life.
 
Make it cool. Have them make changes based on pop culture. Have them teach martial arts, talk about exorcism, promote stories of heroism of Christian monks around the world non stop, lift weights, etc...

Probably reduces their productivity by a lot, but if they increase style enough they can potentially increase recruitment among young men by quite a bit.
 
. . more young people . .
More orders go the route of 5 year or 6, 7, and 8 year commitments.

And, the economic boom continues from the 1960s, where there’s no real problem with young people delaying a “real” career because the economy’s producing plenty of jobs.
 
Wasn’t there a boom of young American men entering monasteries after World War 2 and the publication of Thomas Merton’s “The Seven Storey Mountain”?

Perhaps a Iraq or Afghan War vet with a talent for writing takes up the monastic life and follows Merton’s steps in releasing a memoir?
 
An Angels pitching prospect gave up baseball for the seminary. Maybe have the vocations director tell him to try to make the Show and hang around for a few years...then you have a high profile athlete seeking religious life.
 
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