Even Gen Z “nones” engage in several spiritual practices; over one in four of those with no faith (26%) say they’ve prayed in the previous seven days.
Barna says that “Regardless of their religious beliefs, Gen Z today are participating in various faith practices and may be open to exploring spiritual traditions to some degree, even if they don’t necessarily identify with a particular religion. Illustrating this theme, the prayer lives of Gen Z stand out. Among all Gen Z, nearly two in three (64%) report having prayed to God within the last seven days. This is well beyond the percentage who regularly engage in other spiritual routines Barna asked about. Just under two in five say that in the last week they read from the Bible (37%) or attended a church service (36%). One in three Gen Z (33%) also claim they “read from a book on a topic that helps me grow in my Christian faith” in the last week.”¹
Barna also found that “curiosity about Jesus is widespread in the open generation. Teens in the U.S. are far more intrigued than their global peers, with 77% being at least somewhat motivated to keep learning about Jesus throughout their lives.” Through recent research done by Impact 360 Institute and Barna they have found that the percentage of people with no faith within Gen Z or “nones” has increased. Among these “nones” though some are not opposed to spirituality, and they have a wide range of views of God.
A study found that “even Gen Z “nones” engage in several spiritual practices; over one in four of those with no faith (26%) say they’ve prayed in the previous seven days.”² This should be a hopeful sign for churches who want to engage the “nones”, because they are spiritually open. While they may not be able to identify exactly what they believe in Gen Z leans towards the idea that “there’s something out there more powerful than them.”³
The Gospel Coalition states that the only way to truly get Gen Z back to church is to engage them in ways that “transcend” their desires. Gen Z wants to experience things that provide answers for them, and the way to provide that is by reaching them with the truth of who God is and what He can do.
What would it look like for you to personally engage with these non-believers within Gen Z who are spiritually warm and searching?
At Impact 360 Institute, we are wholly focused on working with Gen Z, and live alongside hundreds of them per year. We asked one of our staff members of our College-Aged program, Impact 360 Fellows, her perspective on this data point.
“Gen Z’s willingness to be open to engaging spiritual practices gives me a lot of excitement because it’s one of the reasons why the Church’s evangelism strategies gets to be focused on offering belonging before believing rather than the other way around. One of my professors in grad school told my class that some of the best spiritual conversations he’s ever had was at Burning Man because the attendees were seeking some sort of spiritual connection. Their openness made it super easy to be curious, ask a lot of questions, and offer belonging all while “putting stones in their shoe”. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the king making an invitation to whosoever will (Luke 14:15-24). Jesus offered belonging and broke bread with those who didn’t believe yet. The fact that Gen Z are seeking spiritual connection gives us even more reason to offer community to them, showing them the heart and soul of Christ and Christianity as they hopefully come to know Jesus for themselves.” -Charmaine Porter, Learning Community Coordinator, Impact 360 Institute
To gain more insights on Gen Z, purchase Gen Z Vol. 3 here
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¹ Gen Z Volume 3 (p.86)
² Gen Z Volume 3 (p.15)
³ Gen Z Volume 3 (p.13)