By Ed Dean
An analysis by Vox finds that Gen Zers (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) are coming around to embracing religion.
The story suggests that around or after COVID-19 came on the scene, a movement among younger Americans started to focus on religion after years of decline.
In February of this year, Pew Research said Gen Z increase in religion is as almost as older Americans.
Pew says after showing years of a downward spiral, between 2019 and 2024, the Christian share of the adult population has been relatively stable, hovering between 60% and 64%.
Why the increase of Gen Zer’s move toward faith?
Vox says there are 3 potential explanations:
A response to the loneliness epidemic?
That Gen Z, and younger Americans in general, feels lonelier and more isolated from each other and society in during and after Covid. Vox says anywhere from two-thirds to three-quarters of Gen Z reports feeling isolated, alone, or disconnected from the world, a dynamic that has bled into the way they socialize, date, get married, or find community in general.
Something about post-COVID seems to be bringing youth back to Christianity, specifically, but also to religion in general.
Some have attributed this dynamic to the rise of social media and smartphones in the pandemic lockdown period that defined the adolescence of so much of Gen Z, and a resulting “mental health crisis” in response.
It’s possible there’s a right-leaning political or social shift of younger people.
There’s a sharp gender divide in who is driving the Gen Z religious shift. Young Gen Z men are becoming much more religious, while young women who keep a religious affiliation are shifting to more politically liberal and tolerant faith traditions, particularly in the US.
“This gender divide is quite dramatic: Gen Z men are significantly more likely to attend religious services than Gen Z women,” the analysis found.
