Four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump has been successfully selling white Christian nostalgia, racism and xenophobia to his base. However, the Public Religion Research Institute’s massive poll of 6,616 participants suggests that what works with his base might pose an insurmountable problem with Gen Z teens and Gen Z adults (who are younger than 25).

Demographically, this cohort of voters bears little resemblance to Trump’s older, whiter, more religious followers. “In addition to being the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in our nation’s history, Gen Z adults also identify as LGBTQ at much higher rates than older Americans,” the PRRI poll found. “Like millennials, Gen Zers are also less likely than older generations to affiliate with an established religion.”

Those characteristics suggest Gen Z will favor a progressive message that incorporates diversity and opposes government imposition of religious views. Indeed, “Gen Z adults (21%) are less likely than all generational groups except millennials (21%) to identify as Republican.” Though 36 percent of Gen Z adults identify as Democrats, their teenage counterparts are more likely to be independents (51 percent) than older generations.

  • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    19·
    11 months ago

    Some additional interesting points in the cited poll report:

    • Gen Z adults trend slightly less Republican than older Americans. More than half of Gen Z teens do not identify with a major party, but most share their parents’ party affiliation.
    • Gen Z adults are more liberal than older Americans. Gen Z teens are more moderate.
    • Gen Z is more religiously diverse than older generations. Gen Z teens mirror their parents’ religious affiliation. Gen Z teens are more likely than Gen Z adults to attend church or find religion important.
    • Most Gen Z Americans, particularly Gen Z Democrats, are more likely than older Americans to believe that generational change in political leadership is necessary to solve the country’s problems. Younger and older generations both express a lack of understanding across generational lines.
    • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
      36·
      11 months ago

      It bothers me that younger Gen Zs find religion more important than older Gen Zs. I’d hate to see all that progress in abandoning religion reversed.

      • NoStressyJessieEnglish
        34·
        11 months ago

        If the demarcation point is adulthood, it seems reasonable to believe the “younger gen z attend church or think religion is important” probably shows more that their parents make them go than anything.

        • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
          11·
          11 months ago

          Hmmm that’s a good point, and I hope you’re right. I just shudder to think that all the conservative Prager U and “He Gets Us” indoctrination and propaganda might be working.

          • NoStressyJessieEnglish
            12·
            11 months ago

            I think that fundamentalist views come from a lack of knowledge of the religion itself. Seems kinda suspect that your pastor went to seminary and learned that historically the Jews didn’t come from Egypt but the land of Canaan, had zero cultural exchange with Egypt, and did the same things they called the canaanites evil for (looking at you sacrificing your daughter Jepthah), but with a straight face will preach the exodus and plagues to an ignorant congregation.

            I was so Christian it became incompatible with modern Christianity, and I’m not the only one.

            The truth doesn’t fear the light, or being asked questions and cross examined, and Christian’s fear nothing greater to the point they have to pretend the ultimate evil big bad is creating the questions, and not the lies they told us for centuries.

          • Auli@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            11 months ago

            Except younger people are disalousned with democracy. The younger generation trends more towards authoratative rule over older generations. The younger the generation the less likely they are to believe in the holocaust was real or exaggerated…

        • tiredofsametab@kbin.social
          3·
          11 months ago

          I’m a xennial, but I went from being more into religion than my parents, getting people to come get me and take me to church until I had a car and more, to Atheist (with a weird neopagan interlude in my early 20s). Both sets of my parents, on the other hand, swung back more to religion to some degree or another (though both have at least one parent that is more into what they think the Bible says vs what it actually does).

        • Feathercrown@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          11 months ago

          It really doesn’t surprise me that much. Religion is heavily politicized and is a powerful motivator for many large and/or extreme groups of people.

        • meyotch@slrpnk.net
          2·
          11 months ago

          Religion has done some serious harm to a lot of people. It’s natural this would lead to some radicalization. I am personally in favor putting religious trauma in the DSM. Something about my religious leaders advocating electroshock torture to ‘cure’ homosexuality left a bad taste in my mouth.