Christianity isn't catching on with Generation Z

If you attended a Christmas Eve church service last week, you may have noticed one group was all but missing from the pews. According to research from Barna Group, atheism among Generation Z is double that of the rest of the country (13 percent versus 6 percent), and just about 60 percent of 13- to 18-year-olds are some kind of Christian. More than a third are “nones,” which means they identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.”

Interestingly enough, the most common barrier to faith among non-Christian Gen Zers is the belief that Christians are hypocrites. Could it be that the wishy-washy “I believe in the Bible, but I also believe in social justice” mentality of modern-day Christianity has confused and distanced young would-be Christians from the faith? Or is it that many of today’s Christians seem to have a bigger heart for Muslim refugees than for their fellow Christians who are persecuted on a daily basis in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world?

Progressive Christians would likely argue that youth are turned off by the “judgmental” nature of some Christian churches, but Barna Group actually found that teens overall are “somewhat less inclined than U.S. adults” to strongly agree that “religious people are judgmental” (17 percent vs. 24 percent of all adults). Also, plenty of progressive Christian churches exist, yet Gen Zers aren’t flocking to them; they’re just abandoning religion altogether.

Perhaps the biggest culprit is the lack of moral guidance that this generation seems to have.

Almost a quarter of Gen Z (24 percent) strongly believes that “what is morally right and wrong changes over time based on society.” By comparison, 12 percent of Baby Boomers and 18 percent of Gen Xers felt the same way. About 34 percent of Gen Z strongly believes lying is immoral, compared to 61 percent of the eldest generation.

As would be expected, engaged Christian teens (not just attending services but truly practicing) were much more likely to hold a conservative stance on moral issues, but these kids don’t exactly have much strength in numbers when their peers are running away from the church. Unfortunately, the more Gen Zers identify as “none,” the more peer support they have in this sad spiritual state.

Years ago, religious groups and social critics were complaining that millennials were the least religious generation. More hipster churches sprouted up, churches altered their beliefs to be more progressive and in line with today’s culture, and … nothing changed. Now, they are decrying that Generation Z is even worse, and if the tactics of the faithful don’t change, we’ll lose this generation as well.

Church attendance is a start, but an hour or so of hymns and sermons is not enough. Parents and other potential mentors need to help armor young people against the idea of relativism, which can be so convincing at a time when the idea of truth has become so subjective. Only then will young people once again turn to faith.

Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America's Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.