Our world feels like it’s coming apart at the seams — morally, culturally, and spiritually. Chaos dominates the headlines, outrage fills our feeds, and the pace of change leaves many feeling disoriented and adrift.
Young people, especially, are growing up in an age that questions everything, including truth itself. Yet amid all this uncertainty, something unexpected is happening: Gen Z is reaching back to one of the oldest and most influential texts in human history — the Bible.
It might surprise you. Surveys show Gen Z is the least traditionally “religious” generation in American history. But Bible sales have surged more than 20% in the past year, Scripture content is trending on TikTok, and college Bible studies and campus ministries are filling up. For a generation raised on social media and skepticism, the ancient words of Scripture are suddenly speaking louder than ever.
Why? I believe it’s because the Bible offers what modern culture cannot.
First, the Bible provides permanence in a world defined by flux
When your life is ruled by apps designed to be outdated in a year, the words of Jesus carry a rare kind of authority. His teachings don’t scroll away or expire. They’ve endured for two thousand years because they answer the questions every generation asks: What is right and wrong? What gives life meaning? How do we endure suffering and find hope?
Second, Scripture offers community in a culture of isolation
Gen Z is the most connected generation online — and the loneliest in real life. Yet when young people open the Bible, they join a family that stretches across centuries and continents. The letters of Paul, the Psalms of David, the stories of those who walked with Jesus all remind us that faith isn’t an individual experiment. Faith is a shared story. The Bible tells every reader, “You are not alone.”
Third, God’s Word invites reflection instead of reaction
Digital life rewards outrage and speed. The Bible calls for quiet and humility. You can’t “doomscroll” through the Sermon on the Mount. You have to pause and listen. In that way, Scripture becomes a kind of resistance to distraction — a place where the anxious and searching can finally breathe.
Skeptics may call this a fad, but history says otherwise. Every period of upheaval drives people back to the foundations. After wars, pandemics, and cultural revolutions, societies rediscover the texts that gave them moral and spiritual grounding. So while we’re seeing this awakening among Gen Z as new or unprecedented, the truth is that this is a recurring theme whenever a generation searches for hope and meaning.
I’ve witnessed this hunger firsthand. Young people don’t want slogans or sound bites. They want to know: How do we know what we believe? Where did these words come from? Why do they endure? To answer that question, I set out to trace how the Bible was written and preserved, which culminated in the historical documentary, Oracles of God. This is a history lesson that all generations will benefit from, as it answers the age-old question: Is the Bible reliable?
The answers people are finding in Scripture go beyond ancient traditions or sayings. These words of Jesus and the stories in the New Testament are alive and will continue to inspire generations to come. In uncertain times, the Bible reminds us that truth is not fragile and hope is never outdated.
As Isaiah wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
That eternal promise is one this generation seems ready to rediscover.
Gordon Robertson is president and CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network and executive producer of “Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament,” in theaters November 2-5.
