Generation Z tends to ignore religion, which many feel is toxic and the cause of many problems. They aren’t wrong. With megaphones, some Christians condemn everyone and everything, and terrorists kill in the name of God.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” – John 14:27
I wish that religion could tell everyone where to find all the answers in life. Religion tells us collectively how to behave toward God and others, and to look to God for leadership.
Spirituality is where people individually find meaning and purpose through looking to God for leadership. God created us as unique individuals, so we either innately know our purpose, or we discover it, but throughout life it can change, so we need to keep listening.
Spirituality is listening to that still, small voice that speaks to us personally. It’s not really a voice, but a compelling feeling or a knowing. Possibly intuition. Recent science stands behind this.
Not listening, or not being able to act on our compelling feeling, can lead to existential dread.
Why do they have existential dread?
Generation Z, born after 1996, has a lot of existential dread. It comes from the very unsettled financial and social atmosphere in the US, and from rejecting the reassuring things in this world. This dread leads to anxiety and depression.
Money stresses Gen Z
Everyone worries about money, especially the poor. It and kids create stress that can lead to divorce. But for Generation Z, the American Psychological Association found that for 81% it’s their number one stressor.
Money means security. Gen Z is not secure because of what they’ve seen. Gen Z saw the Dot Com crisis, caused by reckless investing, that ended the 1990s golden age of investing. They saw the Great Recession, caused by unscrupulous lenders, examiners, and stock market reckless investing in junk mortgage paper. Thousands of people lost jobs, families went homeless (on the streets or living with others), and many businesses closed.
They have seen high inflation that makes it very hard for families to afford food and homes. They’ve witnessed college prices soar by double digits for decades, rendering it unaffordable.
Over 90 percent of the jobs that came into existence after the Great Recession require post-secondary education, which means apprenticeship, trade school, or college. Only 30% of jobs will only require a high school diploma, and those may be hard to find.
So they are very wary of getting in the tumultuous job market and prefer to work for themselves where they can’t be terminated from employment. But preferences often don’t materialize and land them in low paying fast food and retail jobs.
They can’t stand injustice and won’t tolerate it
Previous generations have beaten their head against a world which likes the status quo. There have been major changes regarding racism, but it still is pervasive in our society. Religions that tell everyone they’re going to Hell and that LGBTQ is bad, new generations reject. And people have been doing this since at least 1900.
This is the generation that changes these things. But doing so comes at the price of finding it more difficult to have a relationship with God. This leaves people adrift and without meaning and purpose in their lives.
Electronic connection is a poor substitute
During Covid, electronic connection is all we had. This had a major impact on developing generations. Teachers see it in the inability of students to understand each other. Because they don’t understand body language, including facial expression. They don’t understand vocal intonation. Variation in vocal pitch conveys a speaker’s attitude, emphasis, or emotion.
Body language and vocal inflection are 90% of the effectiveness of communication, so they misunderstand intent. This leads to trouble and poor grades. It leads to being disconnected from others.
Loneliness
The irony is, Gen Z prefers face-to-face connection. But once you leave the physical and social space of high school, it’s difficult to make meaningful connections. Seventy-nine percent report feelings of loneliness sometimes or always.
This lack of connection leaves people isolated and vulnerable. Numbers provide strength, solace, and wisdom. Misery loves company is not just an adage. Some have turned to “Outloud Budgeting,” in which they make their financial situation known to others.
The result of financial, injustice, and connection problems
The result is existential dread, which causes anxiety and depression. They have difficulty coping with real life. One reason for this difficulty is partly driven by parents solving all their problems for them. Suicide is way up.
Existential, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means, “of, relating to, or affirming existence, and grounded in existence or the experience of existence.”
For many existential means that you lack a foundation for security, meaning, and purpose.
Solutions for existential dread
First, regardless of religious belief, Jesus gave us a firm foundation. It is love of God for us, and love of others. This is foundational to meaning and purpose.
Not everyone is religious, but many innately know their meaning and purpose.
We need to assist people with connecting with others. Not just Gen Z.
We need to make the world more secure for everyone, not just those with the power to easily find jobs and pull in big bucks. Most people want to work and support themselves.
We need to make education more easily affordable so that student loans aren’t lifetime payments.
Lisa Miller, PhD, has worked with spirituality and neuroscience for decades. She has worked with the US Army on this. In this interview, she specifically talks about Gen Z and spirituality. Lisa Miller, PhD On The Neuroscience Of Spirituality, setting it on firm ground.
Additional information
Gen-Z Dread: Why Are Young People So Scared? – Cambridge, UK.
Three Ways to See Meaning in Your Life. – Greater Good, Berkeley.edu
Can We Rely on Intuition? – Scientific American
Conclusion
Why wouldn’t Gen Z be full of existential dread? The world around them seems to offer no security and no hope. It’s a major cause of fear, anxiety, depression, and lack of meaning and purpose. Those without meaning and purpose find no meaning in life and are full of despair.
We can offer more hope by making our world more stable. And by letting them make our world more stable.
Probability Space
What probability spaces can we open in our minds to make this world more stable?
Potential Space
If you think creatively and allow your mind to wander and explore insecurities in our world, what can we do to change it?
________________________
– Dorian
Our answer is God. God’s answer is us. Together we make the world better.
Restore and recreate. Take time to celebrate life. Laugh, sing, and dance regularly, even every day. Happy.
Bible scripture verses are New American Standard Version (NASB), unless noted.
Author and books
Appease the Volcano: What does God require from people? The voices of the ancients from many religions echo much of the same things: It starts with law, then mercy and forgiveness, then love.
The Prophetic Pattern: Ancient and Modern Prophecy: How to distinguish the intent of various types of prophecies and oracles, both ancient and modern.
Preparing For the Future Of Work and Education: Analysis of the kinds of jobs that AI and Robotics will displace, and the educational requirements for them. AI will replace or augment thirty percent of jobs. This is an in-depth analysis citing many authoritative sources.
Author Website: Dorian Scott Cole
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