Amid Division, There’s a Rise in Young People Seeking God

Published: July 6, 2026

By Michaela Gordoni

As young people are barraged with technology and tension-filled content, many have turned to faith for answers.

“We’re in this time of division and looking for unity, and this happened in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s, you know…during the Vietnam War,” Al Roker explained in a recent TODAY episode. “They would have these masses, hootenanny masses they would call them, to try to bring young people back in, and it worked.”

His co-host, Carson Daly, explained that with a constant stream of technology in front of them, it’s good that they want to experience community and faith.

Craig Melvin added, “A number of those young people say something that struck me — because we all have introduced our children to faith at an early age — even if you go off to college and you veer off the path, you leave the church for a while, you come back because the seed has been planted.”

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Young men especially have recently pursued faith. A Gallup poll found that 42% of them say “religion is very important,” which is up a massive 14% since 2023.

Though several recent studies have found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going to church, Lifeway research discovered that many struggle to apply faith outside of church.

“My biggest concern for Gen Z is not that they are disconnected from the church; our research shows that Gen Z is deeply involved. The greater concern is that they are not being deeply formed,” said Chuck Peters, director of NextGen ministries at Lifeway.

Over half of Gen Z churchgoers (52%) said that when they have to choose between what they want and what they know God wants, they usually choose their own. Almost half (43%) said studying the Bible has not made a difference in how they live. Over a third (36%) say they don’t think about God in their daily lives.

There’s a disconnect, and it may be because a lot of churches only focus on the positive. The fire and brimstone approach doesn’t always win people over, but it can’t all be fluffy stuff 24/7. People need to know there are consequences to their actions. They need to know how important it is to have a relationship with God and why believers are called to be like Him.

In Matthew 7, Jesus says not everyone who claims to know Him does know Him, and He will turn them away at the gates of heaven.

Following Jesus is hard. But he wants a relationship with us, and he knows our hearts — the good, the bad and the ugly. To know him means more than just showing up on Sunday — we’ve got to let Christ live in us throughout the week, too.

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