Evidence continues to pour in showing that Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012), long lamented as losing their faith, is finding it instead.
In a study by Springtide Research Institute (SRI) that was covered by the Wall Street Journal, an astonishing one-third of 18- to 25-year-olds believe in a higher power, up from just 25 percent two years ago.
The Journal noted:
For many young people, the pandemic was the first crisis they faced. It affected everyone to some degree, from the loss of family and friends to uncertainty about jobs and daily life.
In many ways, it aged young Americans and they are now turning to the same comfort previous generations have turned to during tragedies for healing and comfort.
Abigail Visco Rusert, associate dean at the liberal Princeton Theological Seminary, said, “We are seeing an openness to transcendence among young people that we haven’t seen for some time.”
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) are also enjoying a resurgence of interest in the spiritual. According to GITNUXBLOG, nearly 40 percent consider themselves as “spiritual, but not religious,” while nearly half of them self-identify as Christians. Almost two out of three of them believe in an afterlife.
More evidence showed up in the aftermath of the Asbury revival in February. That revival attracted between 50,000 and 70,000 believers to the tiny town of Wilmore, Kentucky (population 2,000), spreading from Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary to more than 200 other academic institutions and multiple countries worldwide.
Still more evidence comes from California, where evangelists Lou Engle and Mando Matthews just finished preaching in “Hope Fest” events all over the state, bringing thousands to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
A similar event that starts tomorrow, “Fill the Stadium” in Norman, Oklahoma, sold out all 86,000 seats of the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in less than two weeks of its announcement, with a waiting list for those who delayed registering.
The New American covered more evidence that Americans who hew to a “biblical worldview” are gaining in numbers. A survey conducted by pollster George Barna, director research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, revealed that those holding a biblical worldview — that the Bible is “the true, relevant, and reliable words of God that serves as a moral guide,” and that their purpose in life is “knowing, loving, and serving God with all [their] heart, soul, strength and mind” — have enjoyed “statistically significant” improvements in numbers.
A second study by Barna confirmed the first: Among those who believe there are moral absolutes, there was a 14-point improvement over the last three years. And among those who believe that good works cannot gain entry to heaven, there was a gain of 10 points.
Still more proof of spiritual resurgence in America is the latest report that the Christian streaming service PureFlix has more than doubled its membership in the past two years, while its primary secular competitors Netflix and Disney+ have lost members.
How much more evidence is needed to confirm that America is experiencing a much-needed religious resurgence and revival?
Related articles:
Recent Studies Reveal Hopeful Signs Among Believers
Surprise Revival at Asbury University Spreading Across the Land
