Faith has become stronger among the nation’s teens and young adults during COVID-19 — even as they attend religious services less frequently now than at the start of the pandemic.
They also trust their faith communities more and agree that spirituality is important to their mental health.
They’re not drawn to virtual services right now, however, despite their heavy usage of social media.
These are a few key findings from the Springtide Research Institute’s newly released report, “The New Normal, Updated & Expanded: 10 Ways to Care for Gen Z in a Post-Pandemic World.”
The data comes from a survey of nearly 1,800 people ages 13 to 25.
Key findings
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
More young people said their faith became stronger during the pandemic (30%) than weaker (18%) or lost completely (8%). This includes a growing segment of respondents who say they have no doubt a higher power exists, 28% in 2022 vs. 22% in 2021.
At the same time, the percentage attending religious services daily, weekly, monthly or less than monthly each dropped by 1% to 5% from 2021 to 2022, while those who say they never attend such services rose from 30% to 2021 to 44% in 2022.
Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess, president of the Mormon Social Science Association, said there aren’t definitive answers for why this seeming disconnect exists.
One possibility, she said, is that these findings are part of larger, ongoing trajectory in which young adults are less likely to be interested in institutional religion and more inclined to craft their own spiritual journey.
The pandemic, she added, simply accelerated that trend.
“On the one hand, yes, it’s surprising to see a discrepancy between the number of people who still say that faith is an important part of their lives and the number of people who are not active in a religious tradition,” Riess said. “But it’s just a more explicitly delineated version of what we’ve been seeing for years.”
This pattern also exists among older Americans, she said, though not to the same extent. As for what will happen as the world eases out of COVID-19, it’s impossible to be sure, though “I don’t think that we’re going to recover as much as we would like to.”
The rate of religious service attendance wasn’t the only metric the Springtide Research Institute studied. Its report also states that a higher percentage of Gen Zers say they feel “highly connected” to a higher power: 18% in 2022 compared to 13% in 2021. Conversely, those who say they don’t feel connected at all to a higher power is at 27% in 2022, down from 36% in 2021.
Additionally, some 10% say they found joy in virtual religious gatherings during the height of the pandemic — despite 38% of Gen Zers reporting they use social media for five to six hours a day or more. Only about a third say they would consider joining a totally online religious community (35%) or that a completely online religious community is preferable (34%).
Nearly 7 in 10 (67%) agree that their religious or spiritual life is important to their mental health. Though 48% of Gen Zers say they are moderately or extremely depressed right now, 73% agree that their religious or spiritual practices positively impact their mental health.
Some 37% say they now trust their places of worship more or completely because of their handling of the pandemic, compared to 20% who trust their places of worship less or not at all. Additionally, 71% agree their places of worship did well at keeping them safe from COVID-19 vs. 63% who say that about their school and 43% say that about their government.
There is less middle ground
Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, said this statistic may seem counterintuitive, given how many young adults are leaving organized religion altogether.
But for many people, he said, COVID-19 had the effect of strengthening whatever stance they already had before the pandemic. Those who were already religious clung tighter to their faith, while those who were questioning organized religion hastened their departure.
“What we’re seeing right now in America is much more fracturing, where people are choosing whether they either are religious or are not religious,” Mason said. “Those become stronger identities, one way or the other, rather than kind of a squishy middle.”
The report goes on to suggest ways faith leaders can connect with their young congregants, including using the arts (such as journaling, drawing or making music) and exercising empathy.
“Host a conversation with the young people in your life, sharing your responses and reflections without requiring responses,” the report reads. “Inviting them to comment on your experiences feels less risky and doesn’t require them to dig deep in identifying hard-to-name emotions or share those emotions before they’re ready.”
Latter-day Saint research
The Springtide Research Institute has also studied trends among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The State of Religion and Young People 2021: Navigating Uncertainty,” conducted throughout 2021, argues that “for a large and growing segment of young people, religiosity is increasingly decoupled from institutions, even as they express high levels of religious belief, practice and identity.”
During the year, more than 10,000 young people were surveyed, including 470 who self-identified as Latter-day Saints or Mormons. Of that group, 134 also received an additional set of questions about their experiences and views.
The report found that Latter-day Saints, ages 18 to 25, reported the highest participation in youth group activities; and 57% of Latter-day Saint respondents said they trust organized religion “completely” or “a lot,” compared to 35% of the national sample.
They were the most likely, at 26%, to say they read a sacred text to help them cope during difficult times. Additionally, they were the most likely, at 25%, to say they went to a spiritual or religious service to help them amid challenges.
More than 4 in 10 (41%) said they turned to someone from their faith community when they were overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. This was the second highest behind Buddhists at 42%.
And they were the most likely, at 27%, to say that spiritual practices provide a great deal of meaning and fulfillment.
Young Latter-day Saints were among the least likely, however, at 36%, to say that spending time with family provides a great deal of fulfillment in their lives. Only Hindus (33%) and Orthodox Christians (19%) agreed at lower percentages.
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