{"id":863028,"date":"2026-01-15T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=863028"},"modified":"2026-01-13T17:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T23:37:20","slug":"gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-preview\"><p>Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z&#8217;s feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation.<\/p> <p>One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block-login login-toggle\">Already a member? <a href=\"#\">Log in<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2>Unlock premium content!<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Get access to all Church Answers premium content from our expert contributors plus many other membership benefits.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<h3>$9.97 per month<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Unlimited access<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/join\/\" class=\"button\">Join Now<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-preview\"><p>Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z&#8217;s feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation.<\/p> <p>One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block-login login-toggle\">Already a member? <a href=\"#\">Log in<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-restriction-block-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2>Unlock premium content!<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Get access to all Church Answers premium content from our expert contributors plus many other membership benefits.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<h3>$9.97 per month<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Unlimited access<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/join\/\" class=\"button\">Join Now<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"author":17635,"featured_media":863040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[193,1,183,184,179,175,186,177,191,14796,180,18058,176,187,189],"tags":[21706,21704,21705,19878,21707],"class_list":["post-863028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administration-and-finance","category-church-answers","category-communications","category-discipleship","category-first-impressions","category-grow","category-health-and-metrics","category-lead","category-mind-body-and-spirit","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-outreach-and-evangelism","category-premium","category-revitalize","category-smaller-churches-and-communities","category-turnaround-stories","tag-distrustful","tag-gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet","tag-generation-z","tag-interpersonal-trust","tag-transparency","membership-content","access-restricted"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z&#039;s feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don&#039;t hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z&#039;s feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don&#039;t hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ryan Burge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ryan Burge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ryan Burge\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a\"},\"headline\":\"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\"},\"wordCount\":1389,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Distrustful\",\"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)\",\"Generation Z\",\"Interpersonal Trust\",\"Transparency\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Administration &amp; Finance\",\"Church Answers\",\"Communications\",\"Discipleship\",\"First Impressions\",\"Grow\",\"Health &amp; Metrics\",\"Lead\",\"Mind, Body, &amp; Spirit\",\"Monday\/Wednesday Featured\",\"Outreach &amp; Evangelism\",\"Premium\",\"Revitalize\",\"Smaller Churches &amp; Communities\",\"Turnaround Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\",\"name\":\"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a\"},\"description\":\"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z's feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don't hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Distrust\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\",\"name\":\"Church Answers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a\",\"name\":\"Ryan Burge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56879a20cb590828ec05138ab0896cecf173024f2bf472bb1fb8dd0ad8f13fe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56879a20cb590828ec05138ab0896cecf173024f2bf472bb1fb8dd0ad8f13fe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ryan Burge\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before that he was an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and was also the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside six books (including The Vanishing Church, The Nones, and The Great Dechurching) about religion and politics in the United States. He served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years, leading First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, IL for 17.5 years until its closure in July 2024.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/ryanburge\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers","description":"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z's feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don't hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers","og_description":"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z's feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don't hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.","og_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/","og_site_name":"Church Answers","article_published_time":"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ryan Burge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ryan Burge","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/"},"author":{"name":"Ryan Burge","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a"},"headline":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)","datePublished":"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/"},"wordCount":1389,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png","keywords":["Distrustful","Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)","Generation Z","Interpersonal Trust","Transparency"],"articleSection":["Administration &amp; Finance","Church Answers","Communications","Discipleship","First Impressions","Grow","Health &amp; Metrics","Lead","Mind, Body, &amp; Spirit","Monday\/Wednesday Featured","Outreach &amp; Evangelism","Premium","Revitalize","Smaller Churches &amp; Communities","Turnaround Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/","name":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet) | Church Answers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png","datePublished":"2026-01-15T11:00:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a"},"description":"Lately, I\u2019ve been giving many talks about Generation Z. It seems everyone is trying to understand the characteristics of the youngest adult generation, even as some will turn thirty next year (with the oldest members born in 1996). People each have their own views on how smartphones, COVID-19 lockdowns, or the Trump administration have affected these young adults. As I\u2019ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z's feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I\u2019ve reached a few conclusions about what\u2019s happening with this generation. One clear conclusion from the data is that they are the least social generation in American history. About three-quarters of the youngest adults are not members of any clubs, and only 30% of them have gone on a date in the past month. They are also engaging in illicit behavior at nearly the same rate as their parents did when they were young adults. For example, the percentage of high school seniors who had ever smoked a cigarette was 76% in 1976. In 2022, it dropped to only 17%. Teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 77% since the mid-1990s. In a recent UCLA poll of Gen Z, their top desire wasn\u2019t to get rich or even have fun. It was \u201cto be safe.\u201d So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there\u2019s another word that also describes them: distrustful. In fact, this might be the biggest reason why younger adults don't hang out with others regularly or accept a drink from an acquaintance\u2014they just want to avoid any bad outcomes. To be clear, the erosion of trust in society is not particularly unique to Generation Z. In fact, their generation is the logical conclusion to a trend toward distrust that has been brewing among all Americans since the 1970s. The General Social Survey has been asking respondents to indicate how much confidence they have in a number of institutions for decades now. The results paint an incredibly bleak picture of how organizational trust has collapsed in the last fifty years.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Distrust.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Distrust"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gen Z Doesn\u2019t Trust Anyone (But Here\u2019s Why They Haven\u2019t Given Up on the Church Yet)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/","name":"Church Answers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5a336fe7fb2e2336148e844c396558a","name":"Ryan Burge","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56879a20cb590828ec05138ab0896cecf173024f2bf472bb1fb8dd0ad8f13fe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56879a20cb590828ec05138ab0896cecf173024f2bf472bb1fb8dd0ad8f13fe0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ryan Burge"},"description":"Dr. Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before that he was an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and was also the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside six books (including The Vanishing Church, The Nones, and The Great Dechurching) about religion and politics in the United States. He served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years, leading First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, IL for 17.5 years until its closure in July 2024.","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/ryanburge\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17635"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863028"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":863039,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863028\/revisions\/863039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}