We’ve spent years worrying about Gen Z. The most demotivated and medicated cohort in modern history. Nearly 42% report depression symptoms, double Millennials at their age, while 60% take medication for their mental health struggles.
Why? It could be in part due to facing two apocalypses when they were kids. First came their fear of climate Armageddon, stoked by Gen Z activists like Greta Thunberg with her claims that “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction.” Then came the Covid pandemic with lockdowns and restrictions that lasted years.
Doom and more doom.
They became overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted. They shrank into their smartphones and got addicted to algorithmic distraction, making nihilism – the belief that nothing matters – their coping mechanism. If everything is doomed and meaningless anyway, why try?
A lost generation.
Then something unexpected happened. They’re calling it the Quiet Revival.
A new report from the Bible Society in the UK reveals that church attendance among 18-24-year-olds has quadrupled, from 4% to 16% in just a few years. Young men are leading the charge: 21% now attend monthly, up from a dismal 4%. It’s happening in the US too.
Why the sudden shift from life-is-pointless to praise-the-lord? And isn’t church the most uncool thing ever, especially for young men?
It’s likely that Gen Z became disillusioned with endless distraction-scrolling and the all-is-doomed-mindset and hit a breaking point. Instead of “nothing matters” they started asking: “What if something does matter?” Or perhaps, “something has to matter.”
They’ve somehow broken out of their downward spiral and embarked on a Search for Meaning – together, seeking community.
Research backs them up. Religious individuals report higher life satisfaction and lower stress than secular peers. Over 60% of 444 recent studies found that strong spiritual beliefs lead to faster recovery from depression and lower relapse rates.
The doomer generation has grasped that faith helps cure their depression.
Religion provides what secular consumer culture cannot: meaning, discipline, and hope or what Lauren Jackson’s NYT project ‘believing’ frames as the “the three Bs”: beliefs, behaviors and belonging. Harvard research confirms religions create “robust communities – powerful antidotes to modern meaninglessness.
But this isn’t just about Christianity, it’s a broader cultural correction. After decades of mocking tradition, the doomer generation has rediscovered the need for a narrative of human purpose. Whether through faith, philosophy, science or purpose-driven communities.
And good for them.
It makes us ask: does our workplace have any kind of belief structure beyond quarterly targets? Or are we still chanting “nothing really matters” (especially work) while doom-scrolling and distracting ourselves aimlessly?
Maybe it’s time for our own Quiet Revival.
