After an extensive study by one of the leading evangelical polling groups, there is some good news about Christianity’s future. As we all know, the beliefs of the youth are important to the future of religion globally. Based on research and polling, around the world, 50 percent of youth believe that Jesus is kind, dependable, and wise.
The first in a three-part research on youth from 26 nations by an evangelical polling company which examines their perspectives on justice, the Bible, and Jesus was just released. With seven partner organizations, Barna conducted the largest study it has ever conducted in its 38-year history, interviewing approximately 25,000 Gen Z participants between the ages of 13 and 17.
In contrast to diminishing rates of religious affiliation, Barna reported that 65 percent of youth in the United States and 52 percent of teenagers worldwide identify as Christians. In addition, most of the youth polled in the survey had nice things to say about Jesus, and almost six out of ten said they were inspired to learn more about him.
The study discovered “a lot of just openness, country over country,” said Daniel Copeland, lead researcher on the project.
“We titled this study ‘The Open Generation’ because that is the kind of glaring thing when you look at this data,” Copeland said. “You don’t see any closedness around the globe. You don’t see any rejection.”
The Barna research is one of the initiatives to determine Gen Z’s religious affiliations. The next generation, typically those born between 1997 and 2012, is of interest to researchers because they are expected to continue the shift away from organized religion. Millennials and Gen X, the two generations that came before them, have gradually reported less and less religious affiliation. According to a recent Pew Research Center research, the US is still experiencing a fall in Christianity in particular.
However, Gen Z might be unique. When Facebook allowed anyone to create an account, the oldest members of Gen Z were 9 and 10 years old. When the mortgage crisis rocked the global economy, they were 11 and 12. Researchers are still unsure of how Gen Z has been affected by these and other significant cultural developments. Studies like Barna’s are only now starting to enquire.
The oldest members of Gen Z were excluded from this study because it only included teenagers, but the evangelical researchers described the statistics from the global poll as “hopeful.” In addition to saying they trust the Bible to tell them about Jesus, nearly 60 percent of those surveyed say they wish to learn more about him. Young people stated that they would turn to family (60 percent) and clergy (52 percent) after Scripture.
According to Kinnaman, “I think that underscores so many of the positive findings of the study. Despite all the changes, there are still some real conventional ways in which they’re thinking about religion and the role of community and the role of sacred Scripture and Christianity in their lives.”
In a more focused study published in 2021, Barna discovered that 70 percent of US teenagers identified as Christians. Eight out of ten of those Christians stated it was crucial for them to spread the gospel, and eight out of ten of them admitted to having discussed Jesus with someone in the preceding year.
Results from the American Bible Society seem to support Barna’s study. The vast majority of Gen Zers, according to a 2021 research by the former, claim to be interested in the Bible, and two-thirds said they wished to read the Bible more.
However, not all of the survey data is in agreement. According to the Survey Center on American Life, only roughly 56 percent of people born after 1996 identified as Christians, an eight-point decline in Christian identity from the millennial generation to Gen Z. In line with previous religious polls, more than a third of respondents identified as “religiously unaffiliated”.
Even with this overwhelmingly positive picture, the Barna poll reveals some gloomy areas. Only a third of respondents indicated they thought Jesus rose from the grave, and around half said they didn’t think the Crucifixion was a real historical occurrence. A third or so believe Christians are hypocrites.
In the years to come, it’s feasible that some members of Gen Z who identify as Christians will turn away from their religion. In a previous study, Barna discovered that 57 percent of millennials who were raised as Christians ultimately abandoned their Christian faith. The truth, according to Copeland, is that some of the hardest and most trying years for Gen Z kids are still to come.
