Is religion dying in the face of Gen Z?

 

                                          

 

“There will be no Church  in the next 200 years, am not saying ‘No Faith & God’, but ‘No Church’, get me clear!” I once heard these words in a certain podcast, didn’t take them seriously but now there is a coming belief that person who said them was not actually crazy as I had thought in that moment.

In the  present fast-shifting worldscape, the ascendancy of organized religions is undergoing through  intense alteration than ever before in the history of religious transformation . Once foundations of sociocultural power, organized religions such as Christianity are immensely facing unprecedented drawbacks, especially in regards to the youth population. This trend is not exclusive to Christianity but it extends to other stronger faiths such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. However, this declining trend in Christianity appears to be bolder with consequences for societies where it holds grip such as Kenya. Serious emaciation of long-held suitable conservative values of family, relationship and community enabled by interconnecting ever-rising preference of individualistic lifestyle, capitalism and growing community of irreligious people.

The indication of this descendancy  is crystal clear. In several Christian-majority societies, Kenya among them, I have observed unquestionable process of  change from traditional religious values and principles to what many academics call “Modern secular Values”. We don’t need any data to believe that people no longer commit to attend church services as they used to in the past , community celebrations doesn’t attract joy  of the past, and this also cut across too many other overall religious activities. But the  most concerning one is the hesitation of the youthfull population to engage with religious institutionns. This relentless trend of gigantic withdrawal from Church coupled with less joining of church by young people poses a threat to not only the authority of the church but also suitable conventional  societal  values such as family, community and morality.

But why is this happening?

To my thinking, there are many reasons that explain this declining trend of Church influence and presence in our societies today, the following are main ones among many;

Rise of Secularism 

Firstly, the widening spread of secular culture in today's tech-connected world generate solid contribution to this . Liberal ideologies advocating for tolerance and more accepting world that embrace diverse cultures  are spreading too fast into other parts of the world through people-connecting mainstream social media platforms; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X. Further, many youths perceive conventional religious teachings as outdated and out of context, authored two thousand years earlier and therefore does not resonate  with their current values of life. Also, a growing interpretation of new statement’s position on faith which changed traditional institutionalist style of Faith into a more individualized system of spirituality that advocates for sheer  personal relationship with God as opposed to institution-based fellowship in which a third party that wields a divine power would act as intermediary between a believer and God. This thinking has overtime reshaped on how individuals think of existing Christian institutions as many believes that they don’t need to belong to a church to identify self as Christian.

High-profile church scandals

 Another undeniable major factor  is the the endless series of high-profile church scandals which has diluted trustworthiness of religious institutions. For instance, the recent controversial  BBC expose on allegations of evil-doings of sexual assaults committed by the infamous  late prominent Nigerian Prophet TB Joshua, have left people confused on which pastors and churches to trust.  Likewise, incidents of manipulation of members and followers to do certain things which are fatally  harmful to them, the recent example is the pastor  Mackenzie saga-‘The infamous Shakahola Horror’ in which many followers were discovered dead after going long starving, as advised by their religious leaders. These incidents have undoubtably ruined reputation of the church and disappointed  many church members.

Rise of Global Cultural Liberalism 

The progressing socio-cultural spectrum embedded in the rapid process  of globalization enabled by rapid technological advancements, has significantly changed the way  people perceive concept of faith and  spirituality religious teachings often contend to relate well with a generation used to immediate gratification and digital connectivity. Consequently, the essence of organized religions is rapidly fading in the eyes of the youth who search sense of community and fulfilment elsewhere.

In summary, the decline of religious authority breeds a multifaceted detriment with far-reaching ramification  for youth’s  cultural discipline and societal cohesion which according to my opinion, are not only desirable but also necessary for a thriving society . One way to  address to this problem is through recognizing the underlying causes and engaging in constructive dialogue that can help navigate through this complex change.