Is There a Religious Revival Occurring Among Generation Z?

2500 words. 8 graphs. 3 datasets.

Is there any evidence in the data about a religious revival occurring among Generation Z? I get asked that question at least three to four times a week by reporters, random social media commenters, and folks who attend lectures and presentations I give around the country. They may have heard a little nugget of information that points in that direction or quickly glanced at a news article headline that gives that general impression. I’ve got two hunches why I am getting asked about the possibility.

The first is pretty simple - people of faith want to believe that there’s a revival right around the corner and they want to be a part of it. Every Christian hears about stories of mass conversion events and wants to believe they could witness that type of history. The other is subtler, I think. It’s people who don’t feel strongly about religion one way or the other, but are just tired of hearing more stories about religious decline. Thus, any indication that Gen Z is returning to religion would just bring about a change in the dominant narrative. Trust me when I tell you that I don’t revel in the fact that I’m the ‘prophet of doom’ in this area, but wishing doesn’t make it so.

So, here’s a longer post where I lay out the most recent data from several sources that focus on the belief, behavior and belonging of the youngest adult Americans.

Belief

The General Social Survey started asking folks about their belief in God or a Higher Power in 1988, but it only became a consistent question in 2006. No one really loves the question wording (which you can read yourself here), but it’s not an easy concept to put into a simple poll question. This is the most recent GSS data, released in late May.