“Church isn’t cool”. Anecdotally, this is probably the most common reason why Christian organisations have historically struggled to get youth attendance up. If you ask most people aged 30 and over, religion and church reminds them of: being bored singing old hymns, rigid rules and intolerance. As someone who grew up a Christian, the biggest barrier for friends were these stereotypes, and frankly there is truth to these stereotypes.
What has changed then? Monthly attendance of religious ceremonies among 18-24 years olds quadrupled from 4% to 16% in six years! To put that in real terms, there are roughly 4 million people within that demographic, meaning estimated attendance has risen (if you pardon the pun) from 160,000 to 640,000. Almost half a million Gen Zs have started regularly attending Church! This phenomenon is being called a “Quiet Revival”. Half a million sounds like more than just a quiet revival to me.
Which leaves us with some questions: how and why has this happened? What has changed with this generation of young people, and what has changed within the Church? Why Christianity specifically, and why aren’t we seeing this surge in other religions?
Reddit is the most popular social media platform amongst youth for engaging in actual discussion, as opposed to posting about your or someone else’s life. It is filled with subreddits focused on a specific topic or subject. As such, it’s an ideal place to investigate this ‘quiet’ revival. In the UK Subreddit, the question was asked “why millions of young Gen Z Britons are flocking back to our Churches”. The most upvoted answer: “Because we dismantled religion and the community values it provided was not replaced by anything meaningful”. Another popular response, more academically minded, claimed that“[i]t’s a logical response to the neoliberal individualism of our culture”.
Lack of community for young people is certainly an issue. There are a severe lack of youth groups and clubs other than sports clubs for young people to take part in. This has been replaced by online communities with social media, but that can never fully fill the void of an in person community. This isn’t uniquely a Gen Z problem, though.
In my own experience going to a Church Youth group every Friday, many of my non-Christian friends would come along and really enjoy their evening. However, exactly zero of these friends would come on a Sunday for “real church”. This might just be a reflection on my personal evangelism skills, but I’ve seen such similar cases often enough to doubt that to be the case.
There is one factor that seemingly has accentuated Gen Z’s need and desire for community. Covid. The original YouGov survey giving us 4% Church attendance within the demographic was conducted in 2019. As we all are keenly aware, we live in a very different world post 2020’s pandemic and subsequent lock down life. Gen Z would have been school age during the pandemic, losing that physical and regular community, and those at the top end of the Gen Z bracket may have been at University, where communities can be even stronger as adult life is first explored. So are Gen Z in even more need of community, having been a crucial age in a unique world?
But this raises another issue within this puzzle. Why is only Christianity seeing this dramatic rise, as a sense of community isn’t unique to Christianity. In fact you would a community more tightly knit than many Islamic communities. So, what may seem like an easy answer to this phenomenon doesn’t hold up with some scrutiny.
It takes two to tango. Perhaps, then, the answer lies not solely in Gen Z’s needs and wants, but also what the Church is offering. At the beginning of this article, I outlined the cultural stereotypes of the Church, which are particularly poignant for Catholic and CoE churches. Gen Z, much like millennials before them, largely don’t enjoy the traditional style of Church associated with organs, choirs and hymn books. So where are these reported half a million new church goers going? Seemingly, to ‘charismatic’ Churches often non-denominational but far more relatable. Hillsong London, one of the first and largest of this style, sees an average of 4000 people through the doors on a Sunday. At these services you’re encouraged to be waving your hands rather than sitting on them, with vibrant worship music that reflects modern pop style, younger Leaders with more relatable Sermons, and importantly an active social media presence keeping the congregation connected beyond only Sundays.
These churches are perceived to be keeping up with the culture as opposed to judging young people for their lifestyle and choices. These churches tend to be more liberal on “ethical” and lifestyle issues, more welcoming to minorities and accepting of lifestyle choices that the traditional church has struggled with in the past. I’m not here to debate the right or wrong of these choices or answer the question of “what is Sin”. A recent Church Times article discusses this further with the title Gen Z are open to faith – Just not the Church of England.
This is not the first time, of course, that Christianity has undergone rapid and radical change. Without getting too technical, the 16th century Reformation at its core was a rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church’s rigidity and dogmatism. Arguably, this kind of adaptability has been one of the key features of Christianity’s history, distinguishing it from other major Abrahamic religions. Both of those faiths in contrast lean more heavily on their respective holy scriptures and adherences to rules and behavioural guidance within. This helps explain, in my view, why Christianity appeals to Gen Z above other faiths. The idea that faith and the Church can adapt to its cultural surroundings and willingness to split from its traditional denominations. This is an aspect of Christianity which is fiercely debated, with some arguing that the faith shouldn’t adapt to culture and should remain true to its original principles and be counter-cultural, with the other perspective citing free will and a living spirit of God that can be adapted to the modern world.
Christianity has so many varying denominations and opposing theological stances, that even diametrically opposed people can both find their way to becoming a Christian. In a world where people look for categories to fall under; communities to belong to; and a stance to believe in, Christianity is by far the most appealing institution due to its variety and openness.
Gen Z: a quiet revival? a new age reformation? A circular return to tradition? The answer, all of the above.
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