Teenagers and people in their early 20s are half as likely to identify as atheists than their parents, a new poll has shown.
Those aged 18-24 – all of whom are Gen Z – are the most spiritual age group in the UK, with only 13 percent identifying as atheists.
Another 62 percent describe themselves as “very” or “fairly” spiritual, the OnPoll survey found.
And when asked what the biggest factors in the UK's declining Christianity rates, Gen Z cited an inability to grapple with abuse scandals and generational change.
Middle-aged members of Gen
For baby boomers over 65 and millennials aged 25-44, one in five are atheists at 20 percent.
The poll of a total of 10,000 people was commissioned by Christopher Gasson to mark the publication of his latest book on religion.
The survey surveyed 1,039 respondents aged under 25, 1,696 aged 25 to 34, 1,637 aged 35 to 44, 1,667 aged 45 to 54, 1,605 aged 55 to 64. and 2,356 aged over 65.
Those aged 18-24 – all of whom are Gen Z – are the most spiritual age group in the UK, with only 13 percent identifying as atheists
Surprisingly, of those over 65, only 35 percent classified themselves as “very” or “fairly” spiritual.
The same description applied to 36 percent of those ages 55-64 and 52 percent of those ages 35-44.
But the much higher levels of spirituality among young people does not necessarily mean tradition – religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism will see a resurgence in the UK.
Instead, many young people describe spirituality to them as more about wellness and mindfulness.
Other associations include nature, astrology and crystals, rather than participating in religious rituals.
Freya Stewart -Williams, 20, from London, told The Times how, despite coming from a Christian family, she didn't want to 'believe' in God – but felt like 'something is there'.
She worked in a crystal shop in Covent Garden selling gemstones with supposed healing, calming or bad luck-bringing qualities in her teenage years.
'The most important demographics [of customers] Were people in their early twenties,” she said.
But the much higher levels of spirituality among young people does not necessarily mean traditional religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism will see a revival in the UK
'We have classified ourselves as a 'spirituality shop'. With the rise of Tiktok and social media, there was a huge trend for this during the first lockdown.
“I think the openness that this generation has, talking about mental health and accepting that we all experience different states of mind, has been a huge driver for people being more open to spirituality.”
Of all respondents, 27 percent identified as atheists, 54 percent Christian, 6 percent Muslim and 1 percent each from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish backgrounds.
Of Christian respondents, only 14 percent said they worship regularly and accept the authority of the leaders of my faith.
The latest census data for England and Wales showed a drop in the number of people identifying as Christian to 46.2 percent.
Although the number of people identifying as Muslim increased very slightly, from 4.8 to 6.5 percent, the vast majority of the decline was due to those identifying as 'no religion' more than doubling – from 15 percent in 2001 to 37.5 percent in 2021.
