Photo: Alamy | Analysis by Summer Lane
Young Americans are hungrier than ever for religious clarity, with new research highlighting a strong desire among 18-24-year-olds to connect with a higher power, particularly among young men both at home and abroad.
According to a new report from Chapman University’s Center for Demographics and Policy, there seems to be a wave of religious fervor among young Gen Z men in both America and the UK.
“In a departure from historic norms in the US and UK, Gen Z men are now retaining or adopting Christian identity at rates equal to or higher than their female peers,” the report found.
It continued, “Many young men report feeling culturally dislocated or villainized by progressive secular discourse regarding masculinity. Traditional forms of Christianity, particularly Catholicism and Orthodoxy, offer a narrative of responsibility, sacrifice, and hierarchy that appeals to men seeking a defined role in a fluid world.”
In America, even the scientific community is embracing faith, with those scientists under the age of 35 much more likely to attend church services than their parents’ generation, the report suggested. And across the board, it appears that young people are rejecting generational secularism and humanistic hostility for something more hopeful:
“Brought up in a decidedly hostile environment for religion, they come at the issue with a zeal that often embraces conservative positions anathema in the secular establishment. Conservative intellectuals — like Jordan Peterson, Sohrab Ahmari, and JD Vance — ever more identify with religion, both traditional Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and evangelical beliefs.”
Amid political tumult and economic woes, it seems likely that the younger generation is reaching for help in a world gone wild, especially in the wake of tragedy and violence.
According to a past survey from the Barna Group, for example, 22 percent of Gen Z Americans reported becoming “more spiritually active” after the shocking assassination of outspoken Christian Charlie Kirk.
And while Kirk’s tragic death may have spurred more Americans to search for a spiritual lifeline, this trend began even before the late Turning Point USA president passed away.
According to a broad Barna Survey (State of the Church) released just last year, Gen Z and Millennials are the leading demographic in church attendance in the recent 2020s, flying ahead of the Baby Boomer generation when it comes to consistently sitting in pews.
“It’s typically older adults who are the most loyal churchgoers,” said Barna Vice President of Research Daniel Copeland in a statement. “This data represents good news for church leaders and adds to the picture that spiritual renewal is shaping Gen Z and Millennials today.”
It is also likely that Gen Z and Millennial interest in faith-based stability stems from the complete instability of the world and the economy – profound turbulences not widely experienced by the Baby Boomer generation in the staggering prosperity that followed World War II.
“Economically, religious communities provide the social capital — specifically economic connectedness —that is scarce in the modern age,” Chapman’s report keenly noted. “Communities of faith function as high-trust networks that lower transaction costs and provide insurance against volatility.”
Indeed, as the world grinds onward, slogging through crises after crises, it appears that the younger generation – both in America and worldwide – is looking toward something far more rewarding and permanent than the fluidity of evolving markets and worried whispers of war.