As America approaches its semiquincentennial, a surprising trend offers profound hope for the nation’s renewal: young Americans are returning to church. If you are like me and have noticed week by week more younger attendees and far fewer gray heads in your house of worship, this is anecdotal confirmation that change is afoot.
Recent data from the Barna Group reveals that Millennials and Gen Z are leading a resurgence in church attendance, with younger generations attending nearly two weekends per month on average in 2025—up significantly from just over one in 2020. Young men in particular are driving this shift, with higher weekly attendance rates than women for the first time in decades. This marks a historic generational reversal, as younger adults outpace older cohorts in frequency of worship.
This resurgence comes not from nostalgia or social pressure, but from a deep hunger for meaning, community, and moral coherence amid digital-age disorientation. Social media promised connection and self-expression, yet it has typically fostered anxiety, loneliness, and disconnection. A 2025 Pew Research Center report finds that nearly half (48%) of U.S. teens now say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age—a sharp rise from previous years—with many trying to cut back on screen time. Scientific studies continue to link heavy digital use to emotional distress and diminished well-being among youth.
Young people are discovering that constant digital connectivity cannot answer life’s perennial questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What kind of life is worth living? Faith traditions provide answers by placing individuals within a larger moral and metaphysical order, affirming that meaning is discovered, not invented; freedom is the capacity to choose the good; and dignity rests on enduring foundations. Churches form communities bound by shared worship, practices, and hope—countering online fragmentation with genuine communion.
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