Lowkey religious, highkey spiritual: A guide to Gen Z religion

By EditorUpdated on . Posted on
Young man in pink sweatshirt smiles in a crowd.
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Gen Z is often assumed to be the least religious generation in American history. More likely to claim no affiliation, less likely to attend services and deeply skeptical of institutions, their generation seems a new chapter in U.S. religion.

At the same time, there have been rumors of revival as certain surveys suggest large numbers (mostly young men) are returning to organized religion.

In this guide, we show how moving between irony and sincerity, skepticism and longing, Gen Z engages religion with both distance and desire, questioning inherited traditions while still seeking transcendence and belonging. 

Read below for background, reporting tips and expert sources to help you cover Gen Z religion with balance, accuracy and insight.

Background and Trends

By most conventional measures, Generation Z — typically defined as those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s — is less religious than previous generations. Data from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that more than one-third (38%) of Gen Z adults identify as religiously unaffiliated, with young women more likely to be unaffiliated than young men. At the same time, the majority of Gen Zers (62%) still claim some form of religious identity, reflecting both continuity and change as the ranks of the unaffiliated grow younger across the U.S. and the median age of those affiliated with religion grows older.

Among younger people, religion shows up in a variety of forms, as they draw their beliefs and practices from algorithm-driven feeds, in carefully curated aesthetics and in what some observers describe as a “vibe” of meaning-making, where atmosphere, feeling and visual language can carry as much weight as, if not more than, traditional doctrine.

Trends in practice reinforce the narrative of decline. Younger Americans are significantly less likely to attend religious services regularly when compared to older generations, with many reporting that they rarely or never participate. But these shifts are not uniform. Levels of religious identification and participation among young men have remained more stable, complicating narratives of across-the-board decline. 

There have even been claims of a religious “revival” among Gen Z, especially among young men. But the data is mixed. Some surveys suggest modest increases in religious interest among young men, often within conservative subgroups. However, findings from PRRI and Pew Research Center show no broad rise in attendance or affiliation. Instead, trends often reflect declining religiosity among young women, narrowing a historic gender gap where women tended to be more religious than their male counterparts. What emerges from the collected data is not a widespread revival but uneven, highly visible pockets of engagement that illustrate broader hallmarks of Gen Z religious practice — a distrust of institutions, but with a concomitant attraction to highly structured traditions, historic liturgies and clear moral frameworks. 

Placed in historical perspective, these developments extend longer-term patterns rather than marking a complete rupture with the American religious past. Since the late 20the-century, the U.S. has experienced a steady decline in Christian identification, from roughly 90% in the early 1990s to about 60% in the early 2020s, with the number of Christians stabilizing around 60–64% of Americans. Meanwhile, those affiliated with “other” religions (e.g., Judaism, Islam, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Sikhi, etc.) has risen to just over 7%.

Scholars of U.S. religion have increasingly interpreted these trends through the lens of reconfiguration rather than pure secularization — especially with the increasing of the so-called “nones,” who claim no religious affiliation. Sociologists such as Christian Smith have argued that younger generations inherit not an absence of religion but a transformed religious field, one shaped by individual choice, therapeutic language and moral frameworks that prioritize authenticity and well-being.

This reconfigured landscape is deeply entangled with digital subcultures and what some describe as the “vibe economy,” where meaning is mediated through aesthetics, affect and online performance. Health and wellness discourses, rebranded forms of purity culture, “tradwifing”, looksmaxxing and the manosphere all circulate alongside, and often within, religious frameworks, often blending moral aspiration, identity formation and algorithmic visibility.

Some observers interpret this oscillation between irony and sincerity as characteristic of the “metamodern,” capturing a generation that moves fluidly between skepticism and longing, critique and commitment. This is in keeping with broader streams in U.S. religious history, which features recurring periods of institutional decline and experimentation — from the disestablishment era of the early republic to the proliferation of new religious movements in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In this sense, Gen Z religion reflects both continuity and innovation in U.S. religion. The decline of institutional authority, the continued rise of individualized belief and the diversification of religious expression are not necessarily new. What is changing is the particular blend of an increasingly saturated digital media environment, heightened social, political and economic precarity and a globalized cultural landscape that accelerates religious change and makes it more visible. 

Tips & Suggestions

Don’t confuse visibility with scale — Much of what drives current coverage (e.g., viral conversions, tradwife influencers, looksmaxxing Christians) comes from highly visible digital niches. The assumption is that what trends on TikTok reflects what’s widespread among the population. But that is not necessarily, or always, the case. Be sure to balance platform-driven stories like these with deep dives into  population-level data from groups like Pew Research Center and Public Religion Research Institute. Always ask, “Is this a trend, or just trending?” And, “What does everyday religious life actually look like for a 22-year-old navigating belief across platforms, communities and moods?”

Follow practices, not just identifications — At the same time, survey prompts like, “Are you religious?” are a blunt instrument. Many Gen Zers who say “no” still pray, fast, meditate, attend services from time-to-time or participate in ritualized forms of wellness and self-care. Reporting that stops at labels reproduces a false picture. Instead of asking Gen Zers who they are or what label they claim, ask them what they do and where they belong. Consider alternative spaces outside of institutional religion, including with protest movements, environmental causes and other sources of everyday meaning making and community building.

Get beyond the usual voices — Our coverage often over-relies on clergy, professional commentators or highly visible online figures. But what about community organizers and lay leaders, young people in non-elite settings (community colleges, working class and rural areas) or Black, Latino, Muslim, immigrant and Global South Gen Z communities. Maybe even consider global and transnational trends among young people, non-English digital religious ecosystems or institutional experiments inside religious organizations rather than leaving them. 

Take the religious “vibe economy” seriously, but not too much — Aesthetic encounters with religion and spirituality, whether they be candlelit liturgies, modest fashion, sacred music techno-fied or curated “holy” imagery hung on the wall can get dismissed as superficial or treated as proof of something more. Probe deeper and see what these aesthetic experiences create, signal, or whether they lead to a sustained commitment or remain a form of cultural sampling. You could even go one step further to cover how platforms like TikTok or YouTube function as curatorial authorities, shaping belief, practice and even conversion by suggesting certain content or sending individuals in the direction of particular traditions or spiritual practices. This algorithmic chaplaincy effectively guide users into traditions — whether it be Orthodox Christianity, witchcraft, Islam or trad-Catholicism — with an intimacy and speed that many traditional institutions can’t keep up with.

Catch the remix — Too much coverage focuses on empty pews or headline-grabbing “revivals.” What remains underreported are more subtle switches and remixes going on in-between the extremes. Gen Z religion often lives in these liminal zones. If you’re only looking at institutions, or only at viral extremes, you can miss the middle where things like wellness culture (e.g., fasting, cold plunges, dopamine detoxing, clean eating) often operates as a quasi-religious regime of discipline and transcendence, for example. This can often be siloed into lifestyle reporting rather than the religion beat. Something similar can happen within “purity” discourses around sex, body and self-control, which echo older religious norms but circulate in new circles, with new language and on different platforms (e.g., group chats, Discord channels).

Relevant Stories

2026

2025

2024 and earlier

Experts & Sources

  • Barna Group

    The Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. It provides primary research, communications tools, printed resources, leadership development for young people, and church facilitation and enhancement in order to “partner with Christian ministries and individuals to be a catalyst in moral and spiritual transformation in the United States.”

  • Elizabeth Bucar

    Liz Bucar’s research and writing covers a wide range of topics — from sexual reassignment surgery to the politics of religious clothing — but generally focuses on how a deeper understanding of religious difference can change our sense of what is right and good. She is the author of four books, including Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation, and the award-winning Pious Fashion: How Muslim Women Dress. Bucar is also director of Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Religion, a grant-funded project that provides support, resources and networks for scholars of religion committed to translating the significance of their research to a broader audience.

  • Ryan Burge

    Ryan Burge studies the intersection of religious beliefs and political behavior and is an expert on survey methodology. He has spoken to the media on a range of topics, including religious affiliation and the rise of the “nones.” He teaches political science at Eastern Illinois University.

  • Tara Isabella Burton

    Tara Isabella Burton is a religion columnist, theologian and novelist. She’s currently working on a book about religious “nones” and has written about the intersections of technology and spirituality. 

  • Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice

    The Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice at Syracuse University works across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and alongside Indigenous communities, to facilitate research and student engagement opportunities in cultural heritage preservation and language revitalization, defending political sovereignty, and climate change and the environment. Contact is for the director, Scott Manning Stevens.

  • Chabad-Lubavitch

    Chabad-Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic groups within the Orthodox branch of Judaism. It is based in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and its followers are students of a line of seven rabbis, the last of which was Rebbe Menachem Schneerson, who died in 1994. Outside of New York and Israel, Chabad is primarily known for the international network of “Chabad Houses” it runs in places large (Paris, Prague, Pittsburgh) and small (Big Sky, Mont.; Fairbanks, Ala.; Rogers, Ark.), where Chabad rabbis and their wives work to reconnect Jews to their faith traditions and roots. They also have Chabad on Campus, which promotes a campus life where Jewish identity and Jewish pride can thrive in all circumstances. Their website has a state-by-state list of Chabad houses in the U.S. Contact through the website.

  • Chero Chuma

    Sister Chero Chuma of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace (CSJP), is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner currently leading interfaith retreats specifically on climate resilience for young adults. She works alongside Blaire Nelsen, Executive Director of the CSJP eco-spirituality ministry Waterspirit, and together they offer a compelling look at how spiritual care and clinical mental health practices are meeting the challenge of climate anxiety. Press contact is Patty Macias.

  • Sebastian Duhau

    Sebastian Duhau serves as retreats and programs coordinator for De La Salle District of Australia, a Catholic order that works to help young people in need. In 2018, he was a youth delegate to the Synod of Bishops in Rome, which focused on youth, faith and vocational discernment. 

    Contact: +61 02 9795 6456.

  • Jessica Eastwood

    Jessica Eastwood is a philosopher who researches why esoteric practices like astrology are resonating with Gen Z as tools for self-discovery and meaning-making.

  • Jamie Lee Finch

    Jamie Lee Finch describes herself as a “medicine woman for modernity,” helping humans reconnect with their bodies and the world around them through medication, retreats, bodywork and workshops.

  • Conrad Hackett

    Conrad Hackett is Pew Research Center’s associate director of research and senior demographer. Contact him through Anna Schiller.

  • Shadi Hamid

    Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow with the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings and the author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World. He can speak about Middle East politics and the experience of millennial Muslims in the U.S. and around the world.

  • Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life

    Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life engages young Jewish students in Jewish life, culture and religion during their college careers. It maintains a state-by-state directory of regional and local Hillel centers. Eric Fingerhut is president.

  • Shelina Janmohamed

    Shelina Janmohamed is a London-based Muslim author, analyst and brand consultant. She is the author of two books, including Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World. Use the contact form on her website to arrange an interview.

  • Robert P. Jones

    Robert P. Jones is president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute, or PRRI. He has written several books, including White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, which won a 2021 American Book Award.

  • Jay Kim

    Jay Kim is a pastor in Silicon Valley and author writing about digital culture, church life and younger Christian practice in books like The Pace of Peace, Listen Listen Speak, Analog Christian, Analog Church and Colossians: One Jesus, One People. 

  • Tanita Tualla Maddox

    Tanita Tualla Maddox is a speaker and author specializing in the intersection of Gen Z culture and Christian faith, focusing on the generation’s specific questions regarding spirituality and mental health.

  • Imran Ali Malik

    Imran Ali Malik is a coffee lover, journalist and podcaster trained in Islamic theology, who can speak to the intersections of youth, global Islam and digital religious networks.

  • Christel J. Manning

    Christel J. Manning is a religious studies professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She is the author of Losing Our Religion: How Unaffiliated Parents Are Raising Their Children.

  • Yasmin Moll

    Yasmin Moll is ama cultural anthropologist of the Middle East and North Africa at the University of Michigan. Her research spans the intersections of religion, media, youth and politics as well as questions of race, indigeneity and heritage activism in the region.

  • Kara E. Powell

    Kara E. Powell is executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she also serves as an associate professor of youth and family ministry.

  • Cole Arthur Riley

    Cole Arthur Riley is a writer from Pittsburgh, creator of Black Liturgies and author of This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us, exploring Black spirituality, contemplative practice and Gen Z life.

  • Julian Sambrano

    Julian Sambrano is an intuitive healer and artist in Los Angeles. He runs Mostly Angels LA, a New Age shop offering crystals, sage and readings.

  • Springtide Research Institute

    Springtide Research Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that studies the lives, beliefs, and identities of young people ages 13 to 25. Through surveys and interviews, the institute explores how youth navigate mental health, spirituality and society, providing data to educators, faith leaders and organizations.

  • Jean Twenge

    Jean Twenge is a psycholigist and professor at San Diego Stat University widely recognized for her research on generational differences, cultural trends and the impact of technology and social media on youth mental health.

  • Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

    Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme is a sociologist of religion who has published work on the “spiritual but not religious” phenomenon, explaining how Gen Z creates their own mix of beliefs outside traditional dogma.

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