A majority of Generation Z people do not believe in God but many love astrology, according to a new report.
The Oliver Wyman Forum published a report this year titled “What Business Needs To Know About The Generation Changing Everything,” which found how Gen Z (ages 18 to 25) view a number of different aspects of the world.
Gen Z is the “least religious generation yet,” as less than 30 percent of respondents in the age group said they believe in God and/or other religious deities, according to the report.
“They are 29 percent less likely than older generations to identify with Christianity and 25 percent less likely to believe organized religion fosters a sense of community,” the report said.
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On the other hand, Gen Z is 83 percent more likely to say that astrology has helped better their own lives, compared to those in other age groups. The report noted that the finding does not indicate that Gen Z people “reject spiritual matters” but instead are more interested in personalizing their spirituality.
“Instead of going to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple, Gen Zers identify with traditions from different belief systems and incorporate them into their own experiences,” the report said. “They build personalized tenets of faith instead of subscribing to what has been given to them.”
The report’s findings are similar to a poll conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, which found that in 2022, less than 50 percent of Americans believe in God.
On the other hand, a tracker from Gallup polls found strikingly different answers on Americans’ belief in God. From 1944 to 1960, the poll found that 98 percent of Americans said they believed in God. However, the number has continued to decline, particularly over the past several years. According to Gallup’s tracking poll, 92 percent said they believed in God in 2011, then 87 percent in 2017 and 81 percent in 2022.
Gallup’s tracking poll also found that younger Americans were the least likely to believe in God among all age groups. According to the poll, 68 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said they believe in God, compared to 88 percent of those between 50 and 64.
The report for the Oliver Wyman Forum surveyed more than 150,000 people across 10 countries over a two-year span and compared those findings to another survey, beginning in October 2022, of 10,000 respondents, half of whom were considered to be Gen Z.
Newsweek reached out to the Oliver Wyman Forum via email for comment.