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Honestly with Bari Weiss

A Gen Z Religious Revival: 250 Hours of Worship in Kentucky

Honestly with Bari Weiss

The Free Press

News, Society & Culture

4.67.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For the past two weeks, tens of thousands of people, most of them college students, poured into a small chapel at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Some drove from South Carolina and Oklahoma. Others flew in from Canada and Singapore. They waited in line for hours to stand next to people they share nothing in common with except for a single conviction: God was visiting a two-stoplight town in Kentucky. Religion has been on the decline in America for years. But last year, for the first time in American history, house-of-worship membership dropped below 50%. And nowhere is the decline in religion and faith more dramatic than when you look at our youngest generation. Gen Z is the most likely generation ever to say they don’t believe in God, and they are the least religiously affiliated and the least likely to attend church. Zoomers are also a generation riddled with anxiety and depression, and inundated with nihilistic and fatalistic messages – TV shows, movies, pop songs – throughout the culture. In poll after poll, they are the generation with the least positive outlook on life. The CDC recently published a report stating that “almost 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year.” And yet, in this tiny chapel in Kentucky, God, faith, meaning and hope have been on full display. What moved so many young people to nonstop prayer – more than 250 hours – at a moment like this? How did this revival come to be? And why is it happening now? Today, Free Press reporter Olivia Reingold explains from the chapel at the Asbury Revival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Bam, picture this! You're watching your favorite artist play. Not that artist!

0:05.0

Ha ha, yeah, that's you! You look down at the red can in your hand, or is it?

0:11.0

No, it's a Pepsi Max.

0:13.0

The COLA over 70% of the UK prefer.

0:16.0

You props prefer it too. Go on, try it.

0:19.0

Pepsi Max. Lastly for more.

0:23.0

UK Blind Taste Test with over 54,000 people versus UK's biggest selling full sugarcola.

0:27.6

For verification go to Pepsi.

0:28.9

coke.

0:29.1

Go to Pepsi. UK slash FAQ.

0:32.4

I'm Barry Weiss and this is honestly. to be praised.

0:45.0

see it again.

0:47.0

Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of people, most of them college students, poured into a small chapel with wooden pews at

0:56.3

Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Some drove to the chapel from South Carolina and Oklahoma.

1:08.0

Others flew in from other countries, places like Canada and Singapore.

1:13.4

And many of these people were weeping.

1:15.9

They waited in line for hours, sometimes in the rain or snow,

1:19.4

to stand next to people that they shared little in common with

1:22.3

except for a single conviction.

1:25.0

God was visiting a two stoplight town in Kentucky,

1:28.0

and they wanted to be there for it. God God

1:34.1

the glory.

...

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