1.0Church Answershttps://churchanswers.comrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="BKEBw4Yw2H"><a href="https://churchanswers.com/blog/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet/">Gen Z Doesn’t Trust Anyone (But Here’s Why They Haven’t Given Up on the Church Yet)</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://churchanswers.com/blog/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone-but-heres-why-they-havent-given-up-on-the-church-yet/embed/#?secret=BKEBw4Yw2H" width="600" height="338" title="“Gen Z Doesn’t Trust Anyone (But Here’s Why They Haven’t Given Up on the Church Yet)” — Church Answers" data-secret="BKEBw4Yw2H" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://churchanswers.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> https://churchanswers.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Distrust.png1200628Lately, I’ve 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’ve gone through numerous survey questions about Gen Z's feelings, behaviors, and religiosity, I’ve reached a few conclusions about what’s 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’t to get rich or even have fun. It was “to be safe.” So, these young adults are lonely and cautious. But I believe there’s 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—they 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.