ANALYSIS
Most of us can’t remember a time when belief in God was growing. For the last half-century, there has been a steady erosion of faith as secularism took root and grew in the soil of rebellion and doubt.
But today, interest in religion is growing. And it’s growing fastest among Gen Z.
Citing findings from the National Opinion Research Center, Christian Paz from Vox reports that the rise of the nones has stagnated, primarily due to the undeniable fact that Gen Z is “rediscovering faith.” There is no one explanation for this trend, but it’s clear that “members of this generation who feel isolated or lost might be finding community and friendship in organized religion.”
A new Barna study agrees with these findings. Its research shows that belief in Jesus is on the rise, fueled by younger adults. According to Barna’s latest data, two-thirds of all U.S. adults say “they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today,” marking a 12-point increase since 2021, a clear indication of “meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States.”
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Two significant indicators show how this trend is playing out in the lives of these younger adults, and both are at the heart of exactly how people are seeking answers in religion in general, and Christianity in particular.
The first is an increase in Bible reading. “For the first time since 2021, we’re seeing an increase in both Bible use and scripture engagement, particularly among younger adults and in men,” says John Plake, the Chief Innovation Officer for American Bible Society. “People are curious about the Bible and Jesus.”
As you might expect, this curiosity in Bible reading is leading to a tangible trend: Bible sales. According to data collected by BookScan, sales of Bibles rose 22 percent last year, a startling statistic considering that most other categories of book sales were flat. And just who is driving this dramatic increase in Bible sales and reading? You guessed it — Gen Z.
The other indicator isn’t as measurable as Bible sales, but it is perhaps even more dramatic. Younger adults are looking for meaning and hope in something that transcends their everyday lives, something Lauren Jackson calls “spiritual longing.” And just where do people go when confronted with this longing? Jackson says it this way: “I want a god.”
This desire for a god follows decades of loneliness, anxiety and growing dissatisfaction amid rising secularization. The rise of the “nones” — those who claim to have no religious affiliation — has made headlines for a long time now, while those who found meaning in religion shrank in numbers and influence.
At least it seemed that way, as belief in God was overshadowed by the so-called “New Atheists,” epitomized by Richard Dawkins in his 2008 book, The God Delusion.
“America’s secularization,” writes Lauren Jackson in a New York Times op-ed piece, “was an immense social transformation.” By 2021, nearly a third of Americans identified as “nones.”
But this shift didn’t lead to more satisfying lives. Quite the opposite. Research shows that those who are less religious “rank lower on key metrics of well-being” than those who have some kind of belief. “They feel less connected to others, less spiritually at peace and they experience less awe and gratitude regularly,” writes Jackson.
Especially among Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — the rates of loneliness and anxiety have skyrocketed.
As Jonathan Haidt concludes in The Anxious Generation, social media bears much of the blame for this “epidemic of mental Illness.” Although Haidt is a self-described atheist, he uses spiritual terms to describe both the impact of and the solution for this destructive trend.
“The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation,” he writes, “not just in adolescents, but in all of us.” And what does he suggest anxious and lonely people do to reverse this trend and improve well-being? Engage in “certain spiritual practices.”
And more people are engaging in spiritual practice — and becoming genuinely curious about Jesus. One of the places people are apparently looking to satisfy this longing is the multi-season television series called The Chosen.
In fact, one-third of all people who have viewed at least a portion of an episode are not believers at all. But they are curious about a show that is telling the greatest story about the greatest person in history.
Reports indicate that people who may have left the Christian faith are returning, partly as they’re “reexploring Christianity” through The Chosen. Others are agnostics or even atheists who are seeking answers and appreciate the way the show portrays Jesus.
By portraying Jesus and his chosen followers as real people with human traits we can identify with, The Chosen is introducing the faithful and curious alike to Jesus by simply inviting them into the story of God’s beautiful plan to offer hope to people living in a time when anxiety, loneliness, and despair are everywhere in our world.
And this introduction comes at a critical time: A moment when more and more people desire and seek precisely such an invitation.
“Nobody becomes a Christian because they lose the argument,” John Plake posted on his social media page. “It’s because they’re invited on the journey.”
That’s what this “return to Jesus” is all about. People are curious, people are watching, and people are joining the journey Jesus invites us to take.
Stan Jantz is the Global Ambassador for Come and See, a nonprofit with a vision to reach a billion people with the story of the authentic Jesus as told through The Chosen.
