God Returns in the Gen Z Generation: Those in their teens and early 20s are half as likely to call themselves atheists compared to their parents, survey shows.
Teenagers and those in their twenties are half as likely to identify as atheists than their parents, a new survey has shown.
Those aged 18-24, who are all Generation Z, are the most spiritual age group in the UK, with just 13 per cent identifying as atheists.
Another 62 percent describe themselves as ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ spiritual, OnePoll research found.
And when asked what the biggest factors are in declining rates of Christianity in the UK, Generation Z cited an “inability to deal with scandals involving abuse” and a generational shift.
In contrast, the middle-aged member of Generation X aged 45-60 are the most likely to be atheists, and 25 percent say they do not believe in a God or spirituality.
For child boomers over 65 and millennials ages 25 to 44, one in five are atheists at 20 percent.
The survey of a total of 10,000 people was commissioned by Christopher Gasson to mark the publication of his latest book on Religion.
The survey questioned 1,039 respondents under 25 years old, 1,696 between 25 and 34 years old, 1,637 between 35 and 44 years old, 1,667 between 45 and 54 years old, 1,605 between 55 and 64 years old and 2,356 over 65 years old.
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Those aged 18 to 24, who are all Generation Z, are the most spiritual age group in the UK, with only 13 per cent identifying as atheists
Surprisingly, of those over 65, only 35 percent classified themselves as “very” or “fairly” spiritual.
The same description applied to 36 percent of those aged 55-64 and 52 percent of those aged 35-44.
But much higher levels of spirituality in young people does not necessarily mean traditional religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism will see a resurgence in the UK.
Instead, many young people describe spirituality for them as more about well-being and mindfulness.
Other associations include nature, astrology and crystals, rather than participating in religious rituals.
Freya Stewart-Williams, 20, from London, told the Times How despite coming from a Christian family, she didn’t “want to believe” in God, but felt “something is out there.”
She worked in a crystal shop in Covent Backyard selling gemstones with healing, calming or lucky qualities in her teenage years.
‘The main demographic (of customers) was people in their twenties,’ he said.
But much higher levels of spirituality in young people does not necessarily mean traditional religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism will see a resurgence in the UK.
‘We classify ourselves as a ‘spirituality store’. With the rise of Tiktok and social media, there was a massive trend during the first lockdown.
“I think the openness that this generation has in talking about mental health and accepting that we all experience different mental states has been a massive driver for people who are more open to spirituality.”
Of all respondents, 27 percent identified as atheists, 54 percent Christian, 6 percent Muslim and 1 percent each of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish backgrounds.
Of Christian respondents, only 14 percent said they “regularly worship and accept the authority of leaders of my faith.”
The latest census data for England and Wales showed a drop in the number of people identifying as Christian to 46.2 per cent.
Although the number of people identifying as Muslim rose sharply, from 4.8 to 6.5 percent, the vast majority of the drop was a result of those identifying as ‘no religion’ more than doubling, from 15 percent in 2001 to 37.5 percent in 2021.
