TikTok videos from devout Christians started popping up in September. They explained that the rapture would soon be happening, and what we should do to prepare when the lucky few are inevitably chosen to leave earth once and for all.
One user, in a now-deleted video, even gave tips on how to prepare if you happen to start floating upwards towards the sky.
The typical reaction to this content from young people outside of the sphere of religion was a fair amount of bewilderment and skepticism.
The fervent nature with which evangelical messaging is being shared with the masses online made me question why it feels as though Generation Z is going through an online religious resurgence — and how this intensity could bleed into my own experiences as a college student.
The apparent increase in this content is not necessarily due to the fact that Gen Z is suddenly more religious as a whole, or that they’re attending church more than the generations before them. It’s too early to tell if any of this is true.
The real reason behind the apparent increase in religious online messaging seems more abundant due to the intense and overwhelming nature of the content. So much of Gen Z’s Christian rhetoric, particularly online, is laced with what feels like an anxiety-inducing sense of urgency. “Love thy neighbor” has been swapped out for a message that’s often darker in tone.
The emphasis now seems to be put on repentance and saving nonbelievers from the perceived abundance of sin that comes with being a young person in the 21st century.
University of Minnesota English professor and religious studies affiliate Rachel Trocchio said although she can’t see what her students experience, she has noticed an increase in religious fervor in her own social media feed. She said it’s important to consider what religious language and messaging can do and be used for, especially online.
“I actually have a lot of reservations about social media being used as a pulpit,” Trocchio said.
“Social media platforms can present themselves as a kind of market square for the free interchange of ideas, across which all beliefs are treated as equally verifiable because they are held by an individual who holds them to be true.”
Due to the nature of social media, it’s easy for people to make claims without them being verified. It’s up to the users to decide what’s true or not.
Much of the cause of the intensity in online religious messaging may be due to the uncomfortable position Gen Zers find themselves occupying in the world as of late.
So many aspects of Gen Zers’ beliefs and attitudes can stem from the wide political gaps among different categories of college-aged people and a growing rise in conservative attitudes.
Trocchio said curiosity in religious language has been inflamed following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. This can also lead young people to adopt worrying thought patterns.
“I’m really anxious as an academic about the degradation of expertise and a disbelief in expertise as a capacity, whether that expertise is scientific or literary,” Trocchio said. “I think college-aged students are increasingly curious about religious language, particularly the language of martyrology.”
The pointed messages expressed by religious people online have the potential to lead to a degradation in empathy and can trap people in fixed ways of thinking about those around them.
As a way to detach from the often loaded religious language used online, I find that open discussion among peers is a far better channel than social media.
Although the attitudes expressed by religious Gen Zers online can often feel daunting, third-year student Nadia Wang, who is a part of a campus religious organization, said she tries to engage positively with students via social media and when talking to them on campus.
“It’s very true that people like to know what they’re getting themselves into before going in-person to experience it for themselves,” Wang said. “We want people to have a way to have a low-barrier way to experience the church without having to throw themselves into it without knowing.”
Wang makes a conscious effort to find a common ground when speaking with fellow students on campus.
“Face-to-face interaction has always been the best way,” Wang said. “In our first few interactions with people, we try to be as relational as possible, we try to get to know people first. We very much want them to feel like they are not just some target audience. We actually care about the people that they are.”
Because much of online religious rhetoric seems to be hijacked in favor of more extreme views on Christianity, it can be easy to get stuck in internet feedback loops.
One of the most important lessons we can teach ourselves from observing niche online communities is not to fall victim to internet pipelines and prejudiced thought processes.
Religious beliefs that are forced upon others do not lead to positive outcomes. Expressing compassion towards your peers should always come before trying to prove yourself right.
