Dazed and Discoursed: Why are so many young people looking for God?

“More and more young people are embarking on spiritual journeys,” writes Susan Akyeampong in her latest article, ‘Why Are So Many Young People Looking for God?’. In 2019, just 22 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK said they believed in God. By early 2025, that figure had more than doubled to 45 per cent. New research commissioned by the Bible Society reveals that, since 2018, the number of young men attending church has risen from 4 per cent to 21 per cent, while attendance among young women has grown from 3 per cent to 12 per cent. A similar trend can be seen in the US, where 46 per cent of Gen Z identify as Christian – many of them young boys and men. But what’s behind this religious revival? And why is this surge in faith and churchgoing largely concentrated in conservative Christian spaces?

This week on the podcast, Halima Jibril and Elliot Hoste are joined by editorial director Ted Stansfield (our resident Christian) to unpack what’s drawing young adults to faith and spirituality, the reasons behind the striking gender divide and whether online trends like #tradcath and “Catholic chic” are making Christianity more attractive to the chronically online.