Gen Z in Europe: more devout than their elders?

A survey shows that Europeans born after 1997 are more spiritual than their elders.

The Global Religion 2023 survey, conducted by market research service Ipsos, interviewed 19,000 people in 26 countries. It has revealed that ‘in countries where religious practice is high, older adults tend to engage in it more than the young, while in countries where religious practice is low, young people tend to have higher engagement.’

Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Hungary, as well as the UK, are all examples of countries where religion is now a minority interest (only 40– 46% say they believe in God as described by the Bible, Quran, Torah and other holy scriptures) – but where Gen Z* are showing increasing interest in spirituality.

In the UK, for example, 11% more of Gen Z are reported to believe in God than those of the ‘boomer’ generation**. In Sweden it’s 28% more, Germany 12%, France and Belgium 4%.

Reported attitudes to prayer and church attendance also confirm this trend. According to Ipsos, 15% more people under the age of 26 in the UK pray than ‘boomers’. With church attendance, the difference is even more pronounced – 22% more of Gen Z go to church than their elders in the UK. In Sweden it’s 34% more, Germany 28% more, and France 21% more.

The only countries in which Gen Z were found to believe in God even less than the older generations were Roman Catholic majority countries, such as Italy (-17%), Poland (-10%) and Spain (-6%).