This group has faith thinkers and beer drinkers

There are no stained glass windows at this "church."  The flat screen TV sets show the latest football games.  Communion doesn't consist of bread and wine.  Participants can choose from lagers and stouts and hefeweizens.

Welcome to TAB, or "Theology and Beer," a once-monthly meeting of young adults usually held at T-Bock's in Decorah.  The group was started over two years ago by Adrian Walter, Erika Randall and a few others.  TAB has now grown in size, but another one of the group's organizers, Matthew Bills, says it's looking for others interested in showing up the first Tuesday of the month.

The group is fairly informal, but it's not just about the beer--members have conversations about faith and about what's happening in their lives.  The popular notion is that people in their 20s aren't interested in religion.  A Pew Research Institute study found "fewer young adults belong to any particular faith than older people do today."  But the same study found that "young adults' beliefs about life after death and the existence of heaven, hell and miracles closely resemble the beliefs of older people today."

So if the setting for "Theology and Beer" is a sports bar instead of the pews, that doesn't mean everything is different.  A notice in the Luther College newsletter stated "Beer drinkers and faith thinkers wanted."  Bills says anyone who wants to show up is welcome to attend--contact him at bills@luther.edu.