How Gen Z found religion

Explain It to Me

Vox Media Podcast Network

Education, Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 7.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For the first time in decades, American Christianity is not in decline. What are young people looking for–and finding–at church? Further reading: The surprising chasm splitting Americans along religious lines by Christian Paz. Pew report: Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off. This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered by Matthew Billy, and hosted by Jonquilyn Hill. Photo of a parishioner praying at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral by Scott Olson/Getty Images. If you have a question, give us a call on 1-800-618-8545. Or send us a note ⁠here⁠. Listen to Explain It to Me ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Help us plan for the future of Explain It to Me by filling out a brief survey: ⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Amazon offers employees up to £8,000 for education and training, like Juliet.
0:07.0	She's now a trained technician.
0:10.0	And to her, the sound of machinery in need of repair, reminds her of how far she's come.
0:18.0	In two years, she's landed her dream job, providing her with valuable skills.
0:24.2	That's up to £8,000 for education and training at Amazon. Eligibility conditions apply.
0:33.2	Before we get started, I wanted to ask you for a small favor. We're planning for the future of Explain It to Me, and we want to hear from you to figure out how we can make our show better.
0:43.2	Visit Voxmedia.com slash survey to give us your feedback. Thanks.
0:52.7	I found a legend.
0:54.6	Does God love me?
0:59.1	I'm John Glyn Hill.
1:00.6	This is explaining to me.
1:02.6	A couple Sundays ago, I did something I try to do at least once a month.
1:07.4	I climbed the stairs and entered the sanctuary of Metropolitan AME in person instead of online.
1:18.4	When you walk in, one of the first things you'll notice are these beautiful stained glass windows.
1:26.5	But one of my favorite features are the
1:28.4	candelabras right behind the altar. One of them was a gift from abolitionist Frederick
1:32.7	Douglas. He attended services there, and it's even where they held his funeral. Growing up,
1:39.0	church was a regular part of my life. My dad's a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal
1:44.0	Church. Church is how I made a lot of my friends growing up. It gave me a lot of my life. My dad's a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
1:45.0	Church is how I made a lot of my friends growing up.
1:48.2	It gave me my first taste of public speaking.
1:51.3	And since pastors in that tradition are moved around from church to church,
	...

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