Gen Z returns to faith — that can only be a good thing

A new report about Stanford University notes that the number of students making new commitments to faith is skyrocketing.

To take just one denomination, the number of students who have joined the university’s Catholic Church has skyrocketed, from an average of four per year to 46 this year.

Other faith communities are experiencing similar levels of renewed interest from young people.

That may come as a surprise, given what we are usually told about Gen Z.

Today’s youth, we hear, don’t know how to commit to anything. They don’t show up for job interviews. They use AI to do their homework. They don’t make eye contact. They communicate in emojis. And they can’t imagine a time when anything was different.

All of that may be true. Yet there is also a countercurrent.

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Many young people are looking around at the world and rejecting what popular culture is selling them.

They aren’t looking for less responsibility. They’re looking for more of it. They aren’t looking for escapes. They’re looking for principles to follow.

Many of them are desperately lonely. But they are finding that the answer is not another hookup on a dating app, but rather in a serious, long-term commitment to another human being, flaws and all.

Perhaps many are inspired by the example of Charlie Kirk.

Charlie made his name as a conservative commentator, and a Republican activist. He was certainly those things. But at the time when his life was cut brutally short, Charlie had also found solace in his family and his faith.

He preached a message to young men that they had never heard from anyone else in their lives: That they needed to settle down, marry, go to church and raise children.

Charlie provided an example of happiness, with faith — yes, even “organized religion” — at the core.

He led by example. And while his death remains an outrage, his sacrifice has inspired others to follow his path.

Amid all the protests on campus, and the rush toward socialism, maybe there are some young people watching all of it and looking for something deeper. Something real.

Maybe there are kids using TikTok not just to find slop, but also to discover the Gospels and the timeless truth they impart.

A generation that embraces faith, while preserving the tolerance and the spirit of ecumenicalism that makes America rich in its diversity, is a sign of hope.