The Boniuk Institute's Religion and Public Life Center hosted PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman for a public Religious and Civic Leader Gathering to discuss the religion and politics of Gen-Z--those born between 1997 and 2012.
In a conversation with RPLC's Rachel C. Schneider, Deckman discussed the historic reverse gender gap in civic participation between Gen-Z women and men, with women participating in politics and civic life at much higher levels than their male counterparts. Research is also revealing that, while Gen-Z women and LGBTQ+ are increasingly progressive--fueled by concerns for reproductive rights, gun violence, climate change, and issues of gender/ sexuality--conservative ideology is making inroads with young men in particular, who are feeling adrift and not finding much in the way of alternative leadership directed towards them.
Young women are benefitting from decades of resources aimed at increasing their civic participation and professional horizons, but this seems to be happening at the expense of young men, who, in search of meaning, encounter the right-leaning "manosphere," only to be told that the "left" considers them to be the problem.
PRRI research finds that 33% of Gen-Z identifies (religiously) as "none," which is on par with Millennials. Upon closer examination, they have found that while Gen-Z men are maintaining their levels of religiosity, Gen-Z women are reportedly becoming less so, due to the militarization of religion.
When asked by an audience member how religious leaders can support Gen-Z, Deckman said, "You have to meet them where they are." Gen-Z have a lot of institutional mistrust and churches are not adequately recognizing how important social and climate issues are to young people.