Does rigid church doctrine drive away young people?

There is good evidence that an increasing number of young Europeans and Americans characterize themselves as atheist.  Here's some speculation about the reason for that trend:

In a society that's increasingly tolerant and enlightened, the big churches remain stubbornly entrenched in the past, clinging to medieval dogmas about gay people and women, presuming to lecture their members about how they should vote, whom they should love, how they should live. It's no surprise that people who've grown up in this tolerant age find it absurd when they're told that their family and friends don't deserve civil rights, and it's even less of a surprise that, when they're told they must believe this to be good Christians, they simply walk away.

This trend is reflected in the steadily rising percentages of Americans who say that religion is "old-fashioned and out of date" and can't speak to today's social problems. The Roman Catholic church in particular has been hit hard by this. According to a 2009 Pew study, "Faith in Flux," one in ten American adults is a former Catholic, and a majority of ex-Catholics cite unhappiness with the church's archaic stance on abortion, homosexuality, birth control or the treatment of women as a major factor in their departure. But evangelical and other Protestant denominations are feeling the same sting. According to a survey by the sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell, moderates and progressives are heading for the exits as the churches increasingly become the domain of conservatives... 

I would argue that the same general principles are driving young Americans away from participation in the major political parties.  As the Democrats and Republicans dig in their heels and ruthlessly adhere to uncompromising adherence to certain governing patterns, young and educated voters are turning their backs and increasingly self-identifying as "independents."

More (re the first topic) at AlterNet, via The Dish.