Gen Z and Belonging to the Church
Is the attraction to Christianity consumerism, a desire for superficial belonging, or something else?
One of my favorite cultural analysts, Freya India, published an article at GIRLS yesterday titled “The Commodification of Christianity” which posits that the growing interest we’re seeing among Gen Z in Christianity reflects a thin, digitized, plastic, frictionless and faceless vision of faith: “The problem with religious apps is the same problem we have with Instagram communities or with online porn, we encounter the virtual version of everything first, before the real thing. And so that becomes our standard. Supplements become substitutes.”
I share Freya’s concern here. The Church, especially evangelicals (but Catholics are guilty here, too) has a history of adopting technology and then in retrospect discovering whether it is helpful or appropriate after it is too late and damage has been done. The excitement of progress draws us to develop things like gamified prayer apps in place of cultivating habits of prayer without a dopamine-driven point system. I see that and recognize the problem. I’m just not convinced that commercialized, digitized Christianity is that widespread and significant among younger generations. I do, however, see young people drawn to the faith for a sense of belonging. And sometimes that belonging isn’t a belonging to Christ and his Church, but to a kind of cultural Christianity, one that is mixed up with a political agenda. That concerns me, but even here I have hope that when the gospel is properly preached in churches, those who attend for the wrong reasons can be won over to the beauty of the gospel and a true belonging to something deeper, truer, and more complex than partisan politics.
Everybody desires to belong. But our desire to belong in the contemporary world is especially acute because our natural spaces for belonging have broken down so dramatically. Families are fractured. Friendships are fluid. Young people aren’t dating at the same rates. Where do you belong in a deep, meaningful sense? A group that gives you shared purpose, meaning, value, and direction, that encourages you in virtue and supports you in difficult times? That reminds you of your place in the cosmos? Healthy associations (institutions) can do this by embodying God’s truths to us in the world. This is true of families, marriages, churches, schools, and so on (for more on this, see my next book which I should be writing right now: Shoring Up The Ruins [the title will almost certainly change]).
However, just because we have this deep desire, doesn’t mean we pursue it in meaningful ways. In fact, if society gives us primarily superficial options to fulfill this desire, we start to look for superficial ways to fulfill it. For example, if young people only see dysfunctional marriages with self-absorbed people, and community modeled at their jobs in highly contrived ways, and the only churches they visit treat them as viewers or consumers of a worship or entertainment production, then they will look for superficial ways to belong. They will come to expect that commitment is unnecessary, that “joining” Christianity is more about a lifestyle option than about recognizing the reality that Christ is the Son of God and they desperately need him to redeem their lives.
In that way, we shouldn’t be surprised when some young people turn to Christianity less for the radical transformation of the gospel and more for the identity with cultural Christianity and its political leanings that it brings. Because they don’t see themselves committing to something greater, something life-changing, something that makes demands on them. They see themselves making a lifestyle choice. They are choosing to add Christianity to their profile. And that doesn’t demand commitment. It can be dropped at any time.
This all sounds like I’m disparaging these young people who are coming into the church. And I want to clarify that point. For whatever reason they are entering a church to hear the gospel preached, I say, “Praise God!” I just pray that they are hearing the gospel preached and the whole counsel of Scripture.
Because the reality is that we all come to Christ with mixed motives. No one comes with a pure heart. None. If someone comes to your church because of a desire to be identified as a certain kind of cultural Christian, great! Yes, in a sense they are treating Christianity as a consumer identity, but also, great! You have an opportunity to share the gospel with them and disciple them. Praise God for that!
Here’s the thing: some young people will come to identify with cultural Christianity, but some will come because they desire to belong to who they were created to belong to, God. And in the end, all of them need to know that their true desire is to belong to God. Whether they mask it under cultural Christianity or a desire for a spouse or a desire for friendship or whatever, our true desire is to belong to God. And that happens (in part) when we commit to his Body on earth, the Church, when we meet face-to-face, embodied, at the table, in communion, in prayer, greeting each other, singing together, rejoicing together, crying together, repenting together, forgiving each other, and so on.
What’s important is that the desire of those who are concerned about politics don’t have to surrender their concerns when they commit to the church. And the person who desires a spouse or a friend doesn’t have to give that up when they commit. But when you belong to God and have your loves properly ordered, those other desires become relativized. You no longer find your sense of identity or belonging in politics. Justice matters. But it doesn’t define your place in the cosmos. It is right and good for you to look for a spouse or friend, but you belong to Christ and his Church, so you should never be alone.1
So, back to Freya’s point. Is the growth in young people we are seeing in the church due in part to a commercialization of Christianity? To some extent, sure. To a larger extent if you consider that some young (and older) people consume Christianity as a lifestyle option to add to their profiles or identities. But I choose to take this as a challenge for the Church. How are we going to invite people in our pews to the beauty of committing to the whole truth of the gospel and the wonder of belonging to Christ? I think we begin by showing that it is beautiful. And by cultivating embodied, committed communities that model what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.
This article really doesn’t have much to do with the virtues, except perhaps faith, but still, please consider buying and sharing my new book, To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times, especially with someone young. And if you have bought it, consider leaving an honest review on Amazon if you bought it there or Goodreads if you bought it elsewhere!
Yes, I acknowledge that many churches do a poor job of caring for single people. That’s why I used the word “should.” But it ought not be this way!