How Progressive Christianity Is Reviving Gen Z’s Interest in Church Attendance

Linnea grew up attending a progressive, mission-oriented Protestant church in Cleveland, Ohio, where she later became involved with her university’s branch of the United Protestant Campus Ministries. Now a 19-year-old student at Case Western University, she recalls her experience at a Christian summer camp in western Michigan as “politically neutral.” However, given the camp’s location in a deep-red region, many of her peers interpreted Christian teachings through a more conservative lens.

“It was in those moments where I would see, Wow, we’re both Christian, but we’re moving through the world in completely different ways,” Linnea said. As a faithful Christian and a young woman who identifies as queer, she represents a small but growing segment of Gen Z Americans who are both religiously affiliated and politically progressive.

Gen Zers are less likely to identify as Christian than older generations, and less likely to regularly attend church, according to the most recent Census of American Religion by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). Progressive Christians now face the challenge of convincing ideologically aligned young people that worship can be a meaningful way to engage with society.

Progressive Christianity vs. Christian Nationalism

In today’s political climate, the term “Christian values” is often conflated with conservative values, both by supporters and critics of that ideology. The Trump administration’s efforts to embed Christian nationalism—the belief that the U.S. was founded on and should be governed by Christian principles—into federal policy have reinforced this perception. Polling shows that Americans who support Christian nationalist beliefs remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump.

Progressive Christians, however, reject political labels, emphasizing that they are simply following Christ’s teachings. Yet their ideological differences from conservative and Christian nationalist counterparts are clear, making “progressive” a useful descriptor for how they apply faith to daily life.

“Jesus was also executed by the government in the street and called us, multiple times, not just to love our neighbors but to stand in deep and profound solidarity with the most oppressed amongst us. That, I think, is the deepest and truest heart of Christianity, but it is certainly not what Christianity has become synonymous with in a country where the government is openly trying to make this a Christian nationalist nation.”

— Lizzie McManus-Dail, Pastor of Jubilee Episcopal Church (Austin, Texas)

Activism and the Future of Progressive Christianity

Recent civil actions by church leaders opposing the Trump administration’s policies have highlighted Christians who believe their faith’s tenets conflict with the president’s actions and those of the Republican Party. After thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were deployed in Minneapolis earlier this year, local Christian leaders organized protests, framing their opposition as a moral imperative rooted in their faith.

This activism is part of a broader movement within progressive Christianity to reclaim the narrative around faith, particularly among younger generations. By emphasizing social justice, inclusivity, and solidarity with marginalized communities, progressive Christian groups are appealing to Gen Z’s desire for authenticity and activism.

For Linnea and others like her, progressive Christianity offers a path to reconcile faith with modern values, challenging the conservative dominance of religious discourse in America.