{"id":18847,"date":"2026-02-14T03:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T03:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=18847"},"modified":"2026-02-14T03:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T03:29:24","slug":"why-gen-z-nones-are-reconsidering-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=18847","title":{"rendered":"Why Gen Z ‘nones’ are reconsidering religion"},"content":{"rendered":"


By John Stonestreet<\/span><\/span>, Glenn Sunshine<\/span><\/span>, Thursday, February 12, 2026<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

Gen Z is the least religious cohort in American history.\u00a043% of this generation born roughly between 1996 and 2012 identify as religious \u201cnones.\u201d\u00a0While there have been many reports since Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination indicating increased interest in religion and increased church attendance, according to statistician Ryan Burge, there is\u00a0not yet statistical evidence of religious revival\u00a0among young people.<\/p>\n

There is, however, ample evidence that these Zoomers are looking for meaning and willing to reconsider religion. Specifically, though these trends may not be large enough to be captured in statistics, there seems to be a growing interest in more rigorous forms of faith.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0a recent article in Tablet magazine,\u00a0Ani Wilcenski, a Zoomer herself, examined this phenomenon. While acknowledging that Gen Z is less religious than previous generations, Wilcenski, researched those bucking that trend, including converts to Islam, Jews who are becoming more observant, Latin Mass Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and others who are joining stricter, more traditional religious groups.<\/p>\n

According to Wilcenski, Gen Z has been raised with the \u201cillusion of infinite horizons,\u201d and grew up \u201cwithout sturdy institutions or fulfilling rites of passage.\u201d As a result, for this generation, \u201c[e]verything \u2014 career, identity, relationships \u2014 unfolds as a series of self-directed experiments,\u201d something that has been labeled \u201cliquid modernity.\u201d\u00a0Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman coined that phrase to describe the experience of life as unstable and non-permanent, without fixed distinctions, and no foundation for cultivating identity.<\/p>\n

The experience of \u201cliquid modernity\u201d is why, according to Wilcenski, the ideological capture of Gen Z has been so comprehensive. For example, nearly\u00a0one-quarter of the generation identify as LGBT, up nearly 20 points from previous generations. Ideology gives the illusion of a solid cause and offers a purpose for life where otherwise there is none.<\/p>\n

Of course, that is the role religion traditionally played in Western culture. As Wilcenski noted, the draw of religion is that it provides a firm source of virtue and belonging, focus, and a sense of permanence. That\u2019s what the Zoomers who are exploring more demanding forms of faith are most likely seeking.<\/p>\n

As Wilcenski put it,<\/p>\n

These faiths don\u2019t adapt to the age \u2014 they expect the age to conform to them. <\/em>Their rituals inconvenience, their authorities override preference, their truths don\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>negotiate. And in a society allergic to absolutes, that refusal to dilute themselves\u00a0<\/em>holds a powerful magnetism.<\/em><\/p>\n

As an example, Wilcenski quoted a 23-year-old woman who explained her decision to join a Carmelite monastery in\u00a0Plough\u00a0magazine: \u201cI figured if I was going to do something crazy for our Lord I might as well go all in.\u201d Like Wilcenski, the\u00a0Plougharticle noted that young women who join strict religious orders are committing to something stable and permanent.<\/p>\n

According to Wilcenski, when the Gen Zers turning to religion offer reasons why, they, \u201cSound more like escapes from modern chaos than declarations of faith \u2026 [T]heir newfound religiosity is less about belief than about orienting life around something\u00a0ultimate \u2014 something greater than the self.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, of course, also leaves them vulnerable to religious falsehoods. Remember, Wilcenski not only researched conversions to Christianity but also to conservative forms of Judaism and Islam. The desire to escape \u201cliquid modernity\u201d says nothing about the genuineness of any faith that follows. The same motivation can explain the growing number of young men who are embracing political extremism, from Antifa to white nationalism.<\/p>\n

It has long been the case that laxer forms of religion have declined while more demanding forms have grown or at least declined more slowly. The divide within this segment of Gen Z seems to be even more pronounced. This group will not be interested in churches that accommodate themselves to American culture. The seeker-sensitive model will not work. It probably never has.<\/p>\n

The Church must be countercultural, unapologetic about even the\u00a0weird things we believe, and unafraid to ask for serious commitment from people. It needs to explore the depths of the Gospel; it must explain life and its meaning, including hard truths about the human condition, rather than offer only shallow therapeutic or pragmatic applications. <\/p>\n

A church that does this will not only be able to counter destructive ideologies vying for all generations but will also be able to offer meaning and stability to a generation that is looking for both.<\/p>\n

Originally published at BreakPoint.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

John Stonestreet serves as president of the Colson Center, equipping Christians to live with clarity, confidence, and courage in today’s cultural moment. A sought-after speaker and author on faith, culture, theology, worldview, education, and apologetics, he has co-authored five books, including A Practical Guide to Culture, A Student\u2019s Guide to Culture, and Restoring All Things. John hosts Breakpoint, the nationally syndicated commentary founded by Chuck Colson, and The Point, a daily one-minute feature on worldview and cultural issues. Previously, he held leadership roles at Summit Ministries and taught biblical studies at Bryan College (TN). He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.<\/p>\n

Glenn Sunshine is a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, a Senior Fellow of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and the founder and president of Every Square Inch Ministries. He is a speaker, the author of several books, and co-author with Jerry Trousdale of\u00a0The Kingdom Unleashed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Stonestreet, Glenn Sunshine, Thursday, February 12, 2026Getty Images Gen Z is the least religious cohort in American history.\u00a043% of this generation born roughly between 1996 and 2012 identify as religious \u201cnones.\u201d\u00a0While there have been many reports since Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination indicating increased interest in religion and increased church attendance, according to statistician Ryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[298,3868,6108,2453],"class_list":["post-18847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-christian-living","tag-gen","tag-nones","tag-reconsidering","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}