Last Sunday the St. James Catholic Church was flooded with students —so crowded that I was nearly compelled to act violently, un-Christian-like, to find a seat. I was adjoined by two of my closest friends who first and second year opted to drop me off at services on their way to the pub, rather than attend. The surprise in my friends’ participation escalated when we entered the even more crowded sanctuary. Overwhelmed by the number of worshippers, I couldn’t help but wonder what had caused such an increase in participants.
Our trio was inclined to attend church for three different reasons: one of us was brought up Christian and had abandoned faith while at university, another was led by curiosity and distress, and I myself am a Christian.
After the service, we indulged in a quite interesting conversation—is being religious cool again?
The last fifty years in the Western World had seen a stark decrease in the number of believers, yet in the last ten years, Christianity amongst gen-z has quadrupled. I argue that this numerical shift is not merely the message of Christianity, or other organized religions such as Islam which are rapidly growing, but rather university students’ zealous desire to belong. A search for comfort, answers and reassurance in a world of uncertainty. We are ridiculed with anxiety, discouraged because we feel powerless and terrorized by comparison through social media. Delving into this, I want to discuss two sub cultures that seek to satisfy the void that lack of religion creates.
Astrology
Some people receive good morning texts, while others receive screenshots of sentences that read “You won’t be happy with someone who doesn’t eat a good breakfast”, “Spend your money on candy” or “Something amazing will happen to you today… if you…x, y, z”. These strange horoscopes come from CoStar, an astrology app that updates you on your friends’ behaviors, your do’s and dont’s and ultimately lays out your destinies. Astrology has been around since before Christ, using your time and birth to dictate your life. However, it has become increasingly popular in the last decade with apps such as this, which propose it as social, fun and flirty. While I pick and choose when it applies to me —he misses me today? Okay true! He doesn’t… this app is no longer accurate— it has become a part of my friend group’s daily routine, much like prayer in my personal life. Using astrology as a guiding mantra allows you the luxury of discarding answers that don’t suit you, which organized religion unfortunately does not award you. In other words, reading your horoscope is an easy way to be spiritual, sharing them with your friends makes it social, and a sense of pressure and a set of rules to be followed is removed. Astrology therefore has become one way that our generation has sought to satisfy the void of religion and peace of mind one may seek from an answered prayer.
Music, Festivals and Sports
Religious services are swapped for raves, prayer is replaced by Mitski, Radiohead and Lana Del Ray, and friendships are made between superfans. While sharing my article idea with a friend yesterday, I was amazed to hear that someone from her class has attended over twenty five Harry Styles concerts. She has spent hundreds of pounds on his Pleasing nail polishes, cries every time she hears Sign of the Times, and even has a tattoo of a sunflower for him. I assumed that this obsession was unique, yet she explained that there is an entire community of his followers… Much like I follow Christ, hundreds of thousands of young adults arguably worship Harry Styles. This is foreign to me, just as organized religion may be to them. This same mania is applicable to Taylor Swift and her ‘Swifties’, rave-goers who chase the high felt through electronic sounds, blaring lights and the rush of adrenaline in a beat drop, and the hundreds of New Englanders (like myself) who probably requested a sick day after the horrible loss of the Patriots in the SuperBowl last week. And while I am no superfan, nor do I partake in such lifestyles, I understand that it is through these interests that the secular world builds community. Shared love for concert going, following the drops of new albums and following the relationship statuses of your favorite celebrities may replace what religion completes for others. Further, religious people may dabble in these activities, likewise secular people do so with religion.
There are a plethora of other movements that compete with the routine services found in churches, mosques and temples ie. politics, exercise, affirmations, meditation etc. And while religion has been mocked, forced upon and misused, it remains central to the foundation of our society. My experience this past Sunday at church with two friends who are in search of something more in their lives, my conversations with secular friends and my participation in differing spiritual pastimes is a reflection of our generation’s shift in mindset. I believe that it is ever more important to find community and ground ourselves in a fast-changing world. We can incorporate the good of multiple grounding-activities and keep an open mind to the unfamiliar to help us self-reflect, grow and find peace. So whether you were one of the people I was willing to fight for a seat at church with, attending Circo Loco in Paris this March, or listening to Mel Robbins and her ‘Let Them’ Theory, you are one example of gen-z’s profound desire for connection. Religion, spirituality and shared values are cool again.