Race and Religion: Gen Z’s Religious Participation Along Racial Lines

Document Type

Social Sciences

Authors

Zoe Swaim, Pepperdine UniversityFollow

Abstract

In a time of widespread religious decline, Generation Z students on college campuses continue to engage in evangelical campus ministries. Building on the Landscape Study of Chaplaincy and Campus Ministry (LSCCM 2019-2022), this study examines the motivations behind the religious engagement of BIPOC students within the secular environment at Harvard College, specifically within the Asian American community. Data was collected through a series of structured interviews with Harvard campus ministers and students from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, along with a content analysis of campus ministries’ online content. Findings from this study affirm that a common desire for a sense of belonging, which requires a racial dimension for students of color, drives Gen Z religious participation. Students at Harvard engaged in campus ministries that offered the most comfort, leading students of color to coalesce in ethnic-specific groups. Harvard’s Asian American community in particular utilized vast social networks to find belonging in ethnic-specific campus ministries.

Recommended Citation

Swaim, Zoe (2024) "Race and Religion: Gen Z’s Religious Participation Along Racial Lines," Global Tides: Vol. 18, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/globaltides/vol18/iss1/4