Young Brought Closer to Religion Post Pandemic

There is a surprising surge of faith among young people after years of moving away from religion, and experts say it is a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic and sheltering in place.

“We are seeing an openness to transcendence among young people that we haven’t seen for some time,” Princeton Theological Seminary Associate Dean Abigail Visco Rusert, an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church, told The Wall Street Journal.

There is a rise in 18-to-25-year-olds who believe in the existence of a “higher power” to about 1/3 up from about 1/4 in 2021, according to a recent Springtide Research Institute survey.

The pandemic is credited in part for the surge, as it was the first crisis young people have faced, experts told the Journal.

“God is bigger than religion,” Becca Bell, 18, a college student in Iowa, told the Journal, adding “gives you a reason for living and some hope.”

Despite the spiritual uptick, there remains some hesitance toward religion.

• 31% of Americans (18-29) said religion was “very important” to them, the lowest percentage among all age groups in the Wall Street Journal-NORC poll in March.
• 20% of 18- to 29-year-olds attend religious services monthly or more, down from 24% in 2019.

But polling does not capture real-world experience.

Nicole Guzik, a rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, told the Journal she has seen religious participation increase in social settings.

“I think this demographic has a need to connect socially and spiritually,” she told the Journal.

Religion has also been turned to amid battles with mental health and depression, according to Christian Camacho, 24.

“How could God allow something like this to happen?” Camacho asked, having grown up as a conservative Catholic.

“A lot of people are turned off by the institutions.”

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