Is TikTok why Gen Z is finding God?

0:02Sky News, the full story first.

0:10Coming up, in an age of endless doom-scrolling and rising anxiety, religion is cutting through. Today, we're asking why so many young people are finding God online.

0:24Religion was supposed to be on the way out, especially among the young. church attendance falling, belief fading, God slipping quietly out of the picture. Except that's not what's happening. God's love is the epitome of gentleness. It's the epitome of kindness, of self-sacrifice. Literally. Remember Jesus on the cross? There you go. That's Chrissie George, a Christian content creator we'll be hearing more from later. And she is by no means an outlier on social media. So what's going on? Is this a genuine spiritual revival or just another online trend? Are young people searching for meaning or simply better content?

1:05Let's get started with Sky reporter Holly Bowman.

1:11Holly, you're going to have to explain this one to me. I've never even started to think about young people finding God and finding God in numbers. So what put you onto this? It was something that I was observing on my own social medias, especially with Love Island influencers. there's one called Liberty Pool one called Joe Garrett and then also Matilda Draper who I spoke to it struck me because you might not associate devout Christianity with somebody that would be a reality tv star so it was kind of interesting to me that I was noticing lots of activity in this way people getting baptized people kind of posting about their religiousness and it wasn't just that but it was the comments as well there was a lot of engagement and obviously you know on TikTok is predominantly young people, engaging with this content, sort of echoing their sentiments that, oh, we've been noticing this too.

1:56Engaging with the content, but engaging with the content in a positive fashion, rather than, you know, just taking the mickey out of it. Well, exactly. Yeah. So I actually had assumed, probably similar to you, that maybe there would be some pushback or some kind of criticism to say, oh, we don't agree with this. But no, it was really positive. And that kind of inspired me to just take a look and see if there was anything out there. That's the anecdotal. I mean, is there evidence that young people are finding religion in greater numbers? Yeah. So I found that YouGov had done some research into this and the numbers were reflecting what I was seeing on TikTok.

2:30I also was surprised, but a recent study from August of 2025, they asked different age groups, you know, do you believe in a higher power? And actually it was the 18 to 24 year old age group, so Gen Z, that came back in the highest numbers to say they did. Young people believe in God more than old people. Yes, so actually 37 % of that 18 to 24-year-old age group said they did, whereas just 25 % of the age group above, and then even the over 65s, it was just 32%. So still less than the younger generations. So this social media content, tell me exactly what they are saying. There is kind of the more educational content like the actual Bible verses, an influencer that I spoke to, Zach.

3:09He kind of does dive into some of that stuff and it's a little bit more educational. Talking about also people's, they call it a testimony, I've come to understand, what led them to be religious and how that bore fruit in their life, so to speak. But then you've also got people that are just kind of showing what it can be like. This is what my church is like. We do events and we sing and it's not what you might imagine, this kind of boring, sitting down, static thing. And these influencers, what sort of reach are we talking? A lot. If you look on TikTok, if you do hashtag Christian, there are 19 million videos underneath that.

3:42Wow. And hashtag Christian TikTok, there are 30 million. So it's huge. Similarly with Instagram, there's sort of 20 million under the same hashtag. It's like a whole area of the social media algorithm now. And that's something that I spoke a lot with the influencers about. They told me that they're getting people turning up to church because of their content and direct messaging them and asking, when can I come? Where is this? And then getting there and being like, I came because I saw what you posted. And is this all about spreading the word, capital W on word? I mean, is it about bringing more people into religion?

4:13Or can I be slightly cynical and suggest there might be some people making money out of this? They would say that they've been put in this position to do something spreading the word. And they did say that that's kind of what they're called to do as Christians. It's sort of part of the religion that you're supposed to educate others. But I suppose social media can be and is lucrative. And so it's not wrong to suggest what you've suggested. Okay, but in terms of those who are actually turning up at church, the people who have found God perhaps again or for the first time, why? What is it right now that is so attractive about organised religion for young people that they are seemingly flocking to it in droves?

4:52In doing this, I contacted a professor from Oxford and he's actually been researching the trend. He's written a book on it. And for him, it was broken down into a couple of different categories. So this kind of Gen Z, we're a digital native generation. a lot of our later childhoods into adulthood has been online and there's this kind of drive back to real world socializing and wanting to get offline and meet people in person and that is akin to wanting a community and a lot of the influencers that I spoke to the Christians that I spoke to said that this was a huge factor for them and he also spoke about how a lot of young people are learning about religion for the first time online so they're seeing this content like we've spoken about and it's piquing their interest and he said that he's had religious clerics and senior religious figures come to him and other researchers and say we are seeing this influx of young people with questions because they've seen something online and they want it clarified by people that have more information but also he talked about gen z getting the short end of the social and the economic stick those were his words and he kind of cited the pandemic as an example for some of this generation they were at really pivotal moments of life whether that be the end of school, university, like these are really important times in people's lives and they're kind of taken away from them a little bit.

6:05And, you know, the same way that there's a lot of disillusionment with politicians and political institutions. And he said that people are looking for answers that they're not getting from these other big bodies that we should look to for hope. In essence, isn't what you're saying that this is a lost generation? This is a generation that feels rudderless, directionless, perhaps without a purpose. And in religion, they are finding that. That seems to be kind of what he is suggesting is happening. And they were given this example whereby they had a social media influencer come to them with a religious idea.

6:34And he tracked how they responded to that idea. And it was showing that in these sort of large numbers, people were finding hope in that. You know, like you say, maybe if you're rudderless and you're feeling hopeless about the world, this is something that you can look to for that direction. Thanks, Holly. So what are the influencers pushing this trend? Chrissie George is a Christian content creator on TikTok.

7:00Chrissie, just explain to me your journey, a rediscovery of God, I believe. I was born and raised into Christianity. My parents raised me in a way that every single Sunday we'd go to church. It was very much woven into our lives. I think when I got to an age of about 16 years old and I had that freedom to not go to church, I definitely chose that. I got to lie in on a Sunday and it just stopped being such a big part of my life. It wasn't up until I was about 23 where life just started hitting me hard and I just kept on making the same mistakes over and over again. And I sought out a higher being.

7:42I needed someone else to rely on, someone else to kind of take the wheel, as they would say. And I decided to get myself back into church and it's just kind of snowballed ever since. And in returning to the church, what has changed in your life? Oh my gosh, everything. Like even down to my perception of this world, my happiness, my mental health, not only the church, but I think it's also my relationship with God that has allowed me to see this world in just a completely different light. I tend to be a lot more grateful and forgiving for the downfalls of this world. And then I guess the church itself is this community, this stronghold that I constantly have to fall back on.

8:31Having returned to church, you also decided to start talking about your experiences on social media. Honestly, I've just always been one of those kids. You know, when the MacBook came out and I had all those like editing little camera stuff, I would just sit down my mom's MacBook and just do vlogs. I've always been that kid. I've loved the Internet. I've loved seeing my face on the Internet. so for as long as I can remember I've always kind of vlogged my life my journey with everything even the embarrassing bits so this for me wasn't an evangelism thing this wasn't like oh I'm gonna bring the people I'm just gonna share my journey.

9:06And how many people have decided to follow you what would you say your reach is? 120 ,000 at the moment followers on TikTok specifically. And when you engage with them, what is it that they are attracted to in the content, in this religious content? I'd say a lot of them are curious as to why there are so many young people spending their time in church. A lot of my content, my Christian content, is recorded in church. And I think a lot of people do question, like, do you guys have nothing better to do? Like, what are you doing at church on a Friday night, on a Saturday night? Do you not have anything better to do?

9:41I do get those comments. some people want to be part of it they're just like can I join do I need to be a Christian do I need to be Coptic Orthodox because that's what my denomination is there's just a lot of query a lot of the time it's quite nice to see to be fair and this interest that you are seeing online you're seeing that reflected in real life at the church itself it's crazy it's honestly maddening how pretty much every weekend I rock up to church and there's just a whole bunch of new faces different people, different age groups, different ethnicities, races. I would even say five years ago it was not like this.

10:17It's an amazing blessing to be honest. I can completely see from the point of view of someone who is religious that this is a blessing and no doubt the church is a better place for having a larger congregation. But doesn't this also speak to a listlessness, a problem amongst Gen Z that they are seeking out religion for perhaps that sense of community and that sense of belonging. As a society, especially with COVID and the individualism that has, I don't know, kind of taken over our Western culture, I could see why that could be problematic. But for me, it just goes back to my roots. I'm Egyptian.

10:53So for me, community and collectivism is our bread and butter. So for me, it just feels like we're going back to where I came from. So rather than seeing it as a problem, I see it as the solution. Do you think though that for the people who are attending the church who are watching your videos that this is genuinely about a discovery of God that the church offers something to these young people who may well be listless who may well be rudderless that they can't find anywhere else? It's so interesting because I actually have this conversation with a lot more people within my church than you would think.

11:27They say to me, Chrissy, like, are you sure people are coming to the church for the right reasons? Like, didn't a guy want to come up to you and just say, I've come because you're a cute girl on TikTok? You know, I think everyone's intentions are so different. I don't think everyone is coming for some sort of like divine intervention. Some people might just be coming because I posted a text on my guys. We're having like a pain and sip at church and it's free food. Come along. like I'm quite candid in the way that I promote what we do and I'm like if you just want a free meal come along for me I don't think it's about the intention I think it's more about what you get even if someone comes one time they've just had great conversations with cool people they've had a free meal they've had some fun and they've never come back I don't know I still see that as a win because outside of it being a religious intervention or something we've been able to connect on a human level.

12:17It's a good thing for humans to be together, like face to face, talking, communicating. I find that a fascinating point because I myself was raised in the Church of Scotland tradition. In my church at that time, if someone was attending and they did not have a belief in God, that would have felt strange, I think, to the rest of the congregation. That is so true. I'd say 10 years back, if a random person just walked in, they're like, oh guys, by the way, I don't believe in God. We'd all be like, so what are you doing here? But now it's so different. Some Muslims come to our church just to like, I don't know, catch a vibe, as they would say, like they're just here for the vibe.

12:52And I think that's what's made my church so beautiful that it's not a blood contract. You don't need to be here forever. And it's, I think it's more just about that human connection now. And we kind of just trust as Christians that whatever has brought you here is so irrelevant. It's just the fact that you're here. and glory be to God, whatever he wants to do with the seed that has been planted now, that's kind of how we see it. That's kind of how I see my social media now. It's just a seed. I'm just a beacon. I'm just a vessel. The seed has been planted. He can do what he wants with that. Going back to my own experience of religion, my experience of church, you know, it required an awful lot of work.

13:29Looking back on it, it required an awful lot of discipline. And I'm just wondering amongst these newcomers, if there is that commitment to studying the Bible, studying the Old Testament, studying the New Testament and living by the rules that it sets down. Do you know what's so crazy, Neil? I see 17-year-olds coming to church way more learned, way more educated on the Bible, on the Orthodox, specifically Orthodox history. They come with so much yearning to learn these super hard and deep histories of our church. But these young people who are coming to the church, actually, they say they pick orthodoxy specifically for the history, for the knowledge.

14:12And I think that's quite interesting because like you said, it's actually really tough. It's not an easy way of life, that's for sure. I think some people are yearning for that though. Why? Why is there that yearning? Is it genuinely just looking around the world right now? It is a difficult place to be a young person. For me personally, there is something about discipline that gives a little bit more purpose to life. You know, when I'm going to the gym four or five days a week, when I'm teaching every single day of the week and I'm committed to my job, I'm committed to my well-being, I feel like I'm being used.

14:47I'm fit for purpose now. Versus when I'm just bed rotting all day and I'm not working and I'm not going to the gym and I'm not attending church. Maybe that's what people are seeking. They're seeking some sort of structure in their lives, something that's going to make their lives better. What of your social groups? I mean, what do your friends say about your religion? Do you know what? I would say about 80 % of my friends are actually part of my church community. And even outside of people from my church, most of my friends are Christians. For my friends who aren't Christians, I have many friends who are Muslim.

15:19For example, I am Egyptian. I think there is just a central line that connects us all, which is being people who do believe in God. I think even my friends who aren't religious at all, they do just kind of respect the game. They respect what I come to do. I never try to do anything intentionally. Honestly, I don't see myself as an evangelist in any way, shape or form. I just kind of vlog my life and whoever enjoys to watch can. Chrissie, just hand on heart. These young people that have started to come to your church, the young people outside your church who have discovered religion of late. Do you think that they will still be of faith, you know, two, three, four, five years down the line?

15:59Honestly, I don't know. So there have been people who've come to our church and completely fallen off. They're just like, this is not for me. You guys are doing a bit too much, but I'll come along every Friday for some pizza. And that's completely valid. And then there have been some people who have followed it out to the end, as in like baptized and all. Every Sunday, they're there. I can only hope and pray that everyone stays in our church for as long as possible and for whoever doesn't I'm just just praying for them but for me I don't see that as like the final end it's all kind of an experience and I'm just so happy that people get to be a part of the experience even if it's just a one-time thing Chrissie it's been a pleasure talking to you thanks so much your time so what to make of it all it's certainly possible this religious revival won't last, that it's not actually about belief, instead belonging.

16:51But with so many young people searching for meaning, and too often numbing the search with alcohol or drugs, it's hard to see faith as the worst place to land. Even fleeting belief appears to offer community, structure, and hope. It may even be enough to turn a life around. So does it really matter if it starts with a scroll? The Sky News Daily is back tomorrow.

17:16Thank you.