Not long ago, saying you were “spiritual but not religious” felt like a cop-out. It was the kind of phrase you’d hear in a dating app bio or tossed around during a late-night dorm room chat. But for Gen Z, it’s not just a line—it’s a way of framing a genuine shift in how they engage with faith.
Gen Z is searching for meaning, but they’re bypassing the usual routes—Sunday services, denominational labels, even the term “Christian” itself. Faith is becoming something personal, fluid, and intentionally stripped of the cultural baggage that many say made them walk away in the first place.
And despite assumptions that younger generations are disengaged or uninterested, the numbers tell a different story.
According to Barna’s State of the Church 2025 report, 66% of U.S. adults say they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus that remains important in their lives—a 12-point jump since 2021. That’s nearly 30 million more adults who say they follow Jesus than just four years ago.
Leading that increase? Gen Z and millennials.
Among Gen Z men, commitment to Jesus has jumped 15 points since 2019. For millennials, it’s up 19 points. For a generation constantly accused of abandoning tradition, this is an unexpected place to find momentum.
Barna CEO David Kinnaman calls it a “renewed interest in Jesus.”
“Many people have predicted the growing irrelevance of Christianity,” he said. “However, this data shows that spiritual trends have a dynamism and can, indeed, change. This is the clearest trend we’ve seen in more than a decade pointing to spiritual renewal—and it’s the first time Barna has recorded such spiritual interest being led by younger generations.”
The growth isn’t just coming from those with church backgrounds, either. Nearly 30% of Americans who don’t identify as Christian still say they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus. That’s close to an all-time high.
“We are seeing interest in Jesus that is growing among those who do not otherwise describe themselves as Christians,” Kinnaman said. “Many of the new followers of Jesus are not just ‘recycled’ believers.”
The so-called “spiritual but not religious” group isn’t just made up of disillusioned church kids. Many are actively pursuing Jesus—they just want nothing to do with the institutional baggage they associate with His name.
Part of this shift can be traced back to the pandemic. As routines fell apart and normal life was put on pause, people of all ages found themselves asking bigger questions about meaning and purpose. “The pandemic undeniably disrupted life for everyone, creating space for existential questions and the pursuit of meaning,” Kinnaman said.
Add to that the cultural impact of shows like The Chosen and music from artists like Forrest Frank, and the appetite for spiritual content is clearly growing. But this curiosity isn’t necessarily translating to church attendance.
“The increase in commitment to Jesus among those under 40 suggests a growing spirituality that is quiet, personal, unconventional and hopeful,” Kinnaman said. “Today’s spiritual openness is unlikely to translate into church affiliation or attendance and may not resemble renewal movements of the past.”
That shift is especially clear among teens. Barna’s Gen Z Vol. 3 study found that 52% of U.S. teenagers are “very motivated” to learn more about Jesus, and 77% express at least some interest. Only about 20% say they’re completely unmotivated. That’s a massive level of openness, especially in a culture where religious affiliation is on the decline.
“Though religious affiliation and church attendance continue to decline, spiritual openness and curiosity are on the rise,” Kinnaman said. “Across every generation, we see an unprecedented desire to grow spiritually, a belief in a spiritual/supernatural dimension, and a belief in God or a higher power.”
For Gen Z, the supernatural isn’t an abstract concept—it’s something that shows up in everyday life.
They’re drawn to Jesus but skeptical of the structures built around Him. The word “Christian” feels politically loaded, tangled up in culture wars, scandals, and institutional failures. But Jesus? Still compelling.
Kinnaman notes that “people are often a patchwork of religious beliefs and identities.” Gen Z isn’t opting out of faith. They’re remixing it.
This doesn’t mean they want something shallow or easy. In fact, the opposite seems true. This generation is deeply curious—but only about what feels honest, relevant and unafraid of hard questions. They want to know if Jesus speaks to real life: mental health, injustice, identity, purpose. They’re not interested in being sold something. They want something real.
And while “spiritual but not religious” has often been dismissed as vague or noncommittal, the numbers tell a more complicated story. This isn’t about apathy—it’s about integrity. Gen Z doesn’t want to fake it. They want to figure it out for themselves.
For those raised with more structured expressions of faith, all of this might feel like a loss. But it may actually be an invitation—to rethink how we talk about Jesus, and how the Church shows up in people’s lives.
The rise of Gen Z’s spiritual independence isn’t proof that Christianity is disappearing. It’s proof that something is stirring—something new, something raw, something that can’t be boxed in by old definitions. The labels may be shifting, but the longing behind them is the same.
