Here’s a statistic we never thought we would see:

Generation Z adults (mainly, late teens and those aged up to 29) are more likely than older Americans to describe themselves as “religious,” even as many also engage in practices at odds with Christian teaching, according to a new survey.

This comes from a Harris Poll survey released last week and based on responses from 2,136 U.S. adults collected during the summer.

The poll grouped respondents by generation: Generation Z (ages 18 to 29), millennials (30 to 45), Generation X (46 to 61) and baby boomers (62 and older). (More here.)

One reason?

The great upsurge of evil they are seeing all around us.

They are also running into Christianity, surprisingly enough, on social media like TikTok.

A climactic battle or “end-game” is now in motion and despite all the efforts of worldly entertainment and social media to ensnare them, and they have noticed it.

During the Pope’s recent trip to France were crowds that surprised many, in part because of the throngs of young. The same is true at the apparition site of Medjugorje, where an annual Youth Day now attracts tens of thousands from around the globe as Mary rallies her troops.

Teens and those in their twenties and early thirties were extremely taken by the ritual of choosing a new Pontiff, glued to live streams on that smokestack atop the Sistine Chapel. Since his ascendancy to the Throne of Peter, Leo XIV has proven to be extremely respected by youth as a Pontiff they can relate to.

To many, he is the only “adult in the room.”

The Barna group has found the same. “For the first time in decades,” it said a year ago, “younger adults—Gen Z and Millennials—are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations, who once formed the backbone of church attendance.

“The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times—a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic.”

Boomers? They’re at 1.4.

Young men are showing an astonishing affinity for old translations of the Bible, and youth can be spotted reading Scripture on college campuses (Stanford University and Ivy League schools are even witnessed a Catholic surge) and on beaches.

It all comes as two other, conflicting trends have emerged: the fad of yoga (which even as physical exercise carries mystical postures and meaning) and witchcraft—which according to another report now has more adherents in the U.S. than do Presbyterians. Bizarre it is that there is wicca among some who self-identify as Christian witches.

And keep in mind those many who practice witchery even though they don’t identify it as such.

Pray for an end to their confusion!

A movie called “Practical Magic 2” opened September 11 and was the top-grossing film that weekend. Though some films about witchcraft are horror movies, many portray witches as good, misunderstood healers who are the objects of unjust persecution. Themes of sisterhood, feminism, and solidarity are featured in most, but there are also family curses, love spells, and inherited “power” in the movie’s formula.

But against this is not just a rise in Christianity among the younger generations but a particular and critical emphasis on spiritual warfare as the great battle accelerates toward a certain end (the victory of Jesus).

[resource: Michael Brown online retreat, November 7]

@spiritdaily1 How to tell demons are around #fyp #paranormaltiktok #medjugorje #catholicTikTok #Demons #viral #Christian #spiritualtiktok ♬ original sound – Michael Brown