"New studies reveal Gen Z men are returning to church at an alarming rate." A post on X(formerly Twitter) making this claim was viewed over 670,000 times and shared by more than 2,000 accounts. DW Fact check found numerous similar postsacross social media platforms, all citing the Barna Group's 2025 study.

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DW Fact check: False The claim misrepresents the findings of Barna's research. While the study notes a slight increase in church attendance among Gen Z churchgoers compared to other age groups, it does not suggest that Gen Z is "returning to church at an alarming rate." According to the Barna study: "The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times. Among all churched adults, they attend, on average, 1.6 times per month." Barna also reports that "for the first time in decades, younger adults — Gen Z and Millennials — are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations." The report also does not specify that young men are driving this trend. Importantly, Barna's data measures attendance frequency among existing churchgoers — not the likelihood of attending church across the entire population. In other words, it compares how often people who already go to church attend, rather than how many people from each generation go at all. That distinction is crucial. While Gen Z churchgoers may attend slightly more often, the overall share of Gen Z Americans attending church remains low. The study itself confirms a continued nationwide decline in church attendance. Similar claims have circulated online, with some influencers assertingthat "Gen Z now attends church more times per month than any generation in the United States, according to a brand new study from Barna." These claims overlook the same nuance: older generations have a higher proportion of churchgoers overall, even if they attend less frequently. Other studies, discussed below, show that Gen Z is significantly less likely to attend a house of worship than their Millennial elders.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · October 8, 2025