Born Again: How Gen Z Is Reinventing Faith and Spirituality
I sank into my bed last night with the uncertainty of college admissions weighing heavily on my shoulders. I proceeded to grab my “manifestations journal” from my nightstand and scribble the words “I will get into my dream school” exactly 55 times. To an outsider, it might seem like I was engaging in some peculiar religious ritual. That wouldn’t be far from the truth.
I was born in 2003, making me a member of Generation Z. My generation is infamous for being “woke” and addicted to social media. We’re also known as the least religious generation: according to a study by the Pew Research Center, only 24% of teens say religion is important in their lives, compared to 43% of parents. In his book Meet Generation Z, James Emery White wrote, “the most defining mark of members of Generation Z, in terms of their spiritual lives, is their spiritual illiteracy.”
The data seems to indicate that Gen Z is faithless. Conventional wisdom might dictate that science has replaced religion among Gen Zers, thanks to easy access to scientific information online. This isn’t entirely the case: many of us have dismissed organized religion, but we haven’t abandoned the idea of a universal spirit that transcends scientific principles. The nightstands that once held bedside bibles now house manifestation journals and tarot cards.
My manifestation exercise — during which I wrote down my goal in an attempt to make it a reality — is one example of the spiritual practices embraced by Gen Z that have little basis in science. “Manifesting sits alongside a smattering of belief systems — astrology, tarot, paganism and their metaphysical cousins — being resurrected by a youthful generation,” wrote Ruth La Fera in The Times.
Manifestation looks different from traditional religious practices but serves a similar purpose. By “manifesting” a college acceptance, I was attempting to regain control over a situation that was almost entirely out of my hands, just as a religious person might pray for divine intervention to heal a sick loved one.
Both manifestation and religion offer a sense of security that science does not. Both act as coping mechanisms, assuaging our anxiety by putting our fate in the hands of a higher power. For example, La Fera quotes 24-year-old Princess Asata Louden who claims “Manifesting has gotten [her] through” the pandemic.
Thus spirituality is filling a void that science cannot — so much so that the number of young people identifying as “spiritual but not religious” has grown tremendously in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center.
Despite declining numbers of religious youth, my generation isn’t faithless. We haven’t abandoned the spirituality or ritualism of religion. We’ve simply replaced it.
La Ferla, Ruth. “Manifesting, for the Rest of US.” The New York Times.
La Ferla, Ruth. “Manifesting, for the Rest of Us.” The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2021.
Lipka, Michael, and Claire Gecewicz. “More Americans Now Say They’re Spiritual but Not Religious.” Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020.
Pew Research Center. “U.S. Teens Take After Their Parents Religiously, Attend Services Together and Enjoy Family Rituals.” 10 Sept. 2020.
White, James Emery. Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World. Baker Books, 17 Jan. 2017.
