One in Three Gen Z Adults Identify as Religious, the Highest of Any Generation
The Gen Z & Religion Report from The Harris Poll finds 33% of Gen Z adults identify as religious, a higher share than Millennials, Gen X or Boomers. The same survey shows Gen Z pairing prayer and scripture with manifestation, astrology and energy work, and looking for more in-person community.
Which generation is the most likely to call itself religious? The Gen Z & Religion Report from The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice puts Gen Z at the top. The Harris Poll surveyed 2,136 US adults online July 1 to 4, 2026, including 372 Gen Z adults ages 18 to 29, 736 Millennials, 532 Gen X and 496 Boomers.
Gen Z Leads Older Generations on Religious Identity
One in three Gen Z adults, 33%, identify as religious. The share among Millennials is 19%, among Gen X 22% and among Boomers 18%. Gen Z is also the generation least likely to describe itself as neither religious nor spiritual, at 19%.
Scripture and Services Run Ahead of Older Generations
The report asked which practices people kept up as a regular habit in the twelve months before the July survey. Fifty-four percent of Gen Z adults read scripture or religious texts, against 53% of Millennials, 48% of Gen X and 43% of Boomers. Forty-nine percent of Gen Z attended religious services, compared with 44% of Millennials, 43% of Gen X and 42% of Boomers.
Private prayer runs the other direction. Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z pray on their own, compared with 75% of Boomers, 72% of Gen X and 65% of Millennials.
Manifestation and Tarot Sit Beside Prayer
Gen Z keeps traditional practice and adds newer ones beside it. Forty-nine percent of Gen Z practice manifestation, such as visualization, vision boards or the “lucky girl” mindset, compared with 9% of Boomers. Thirty-two percent do energy work such as reiki, crystals or chakra practices, and 30% read astrology charts or pull tarot cards. Meditation or ritual reaches 51% of Gen Z, three points behind Millennials at 54%.
Across the seven practices in the survey, 88% of Gen Z adults keep up at least one as a regular habit, the highest share of any generation. Millennials and Gen X come in at 84% and Boomers at 82%.
Spirituality as a Way to Feel in Control
Fifty-seven percent of Gen Z adults agree with the statement “I’ve turned to manifestation practices or spirituality to feel I have greater control over my future.” Millennials agree at 59%, Gen X at 46% and Boomers at 30%.
The report places that answer inside a wider set of steps Gen Z took in the twelve months before the survey to build the future they want. Sixty-nine percent learned a new skill or pursued education or training, 62% started a creative project or hobby, 59% restructured their work to fit the life they want, and 58% started a new income stream or side hustle. Fifty-seven percent showed up more for their local community, and 56% started a spiritual or meaning-making practice.
A Search for In-Person Belonging
Sixty percent of Gen Z adults agree they belong to more real-world, in-person communities than they used to, such as run clubs, faith communities, hobby groups or volunteer groups. Among Boomers the figure is 32%. Seventy percent of Gen Z want to belong to more of those communities in the future, level with Millennials at 70%.
Seventy-one percent of Gen Z say they have reached out for help or leaned on others when they needed it, compared with 48% of Boomers.
What Brands Selling to Gen Z Can Take From the Report
A brand building a Gen Z audience can read these numbers as a map of where that audience spends its time. The in-person groups named in the survey, run clubs, faith communities, hobby groups and volunteer groups, are places a retailer can host or sponsor, and 70% of Gen Z say they want more of them. Manifestation, astrology, tarot and energy work each reach between 30% and 49% of Gen Z adults as a regular practice, which puts journals, card decks, crystals and meditation tools in front of a buyer who uses them week to week.
How The Harris Poll Ran the Survey
The Harris Poll conducted the survey online within the US from July 1 to 4, 2026, among a nationally representative sample of 2,136 US adults aged 18 and over. The sample includes 372 Gen Z adults ages 18 to 29, 736 Millennials ages 30 to 45, 532 Gen X adults ages 46 to 61 and 496 Boomers ages 62 and older. Data comes from Harris Poll Wave 332, and the full Gen Z & Religion Report is available from The Harris Poll.
About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is a global public opinion and market research firm and a Stagwell company. The Gen Z & Religion Report comes from its Thought Leadership Practice.
