Overview

The Spiritual Narratives of Generation Z explores how the first smartphone generation narrates faith amid shifting religious practice and influencer culture. Grounded in pioneering research begun at the University of Oxford, it is the first study to use story completion and participatory co-analysis to place Gen Z voices at the center of religious inquiry. At its core is a typology of five narratives, from Divine Disillusionment to Simple Faith, that uncover young people’s latent beliefs and spiritual aspirations. Combining the breadth of qualitative analysis with the depth of narrative interpretation, this book offers fresh insights into how today’s youngest adults are reshaping the religious imagination, engaging with global religions and philosophies through their smartphones. It will appeal to students and scholars of religion and cultural studies, as well as anyone interested in how young people imagine religious and spiritual role models today.

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9781041098294

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Reviews

""This is a very important work. Edward David and his colleagues have successfully engaged a wide diversity of young adult seekers in a creative exercise which has revealed a variety of stories of spiritual fulfilment. For all those working with a generation that has manifested a strong and surprising reversal of the secularisation narrative, this book is essential reading."" - Dominic White O.P., Prior and Official Fellow, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford ""This book offers a rigorous and deeply insightful exploration of youth engagement, advancing both methodological clarity and participatory depth. It makes a valuable contribution to contemporary scholarship on religion, identity, and lived experience. A timely and compelling piece of work."" - Zaneera Azam, Lecturer of Islamic Studies, Forman Christian College University, Pakistan ""The Spiritual Narratives of Generation Z creatively applies participatory research methods to tackle notoriously sticky ideas about religion and spirituality among today’s youth. This ambitious project goes beyond simplistic categorizations to decode a range of religious experiences and aspirations through a timely and incisive examination of Gen Z’s narratives about moral exemplars."" - Erica M. Larson, Senior Research Fellow in Religion, National University of Singapore

Author Information

Edward A. David is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Ethics & Values at King’s College London and a Research Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford. Most recently, he was the McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Christian Ethics and Public Life at Christ Church, Oxford. Claire MacLeod is a Communications Officer in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. Ning Xu is a DPhil Student in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. Phoebe Kelly is a recent philosophy graduate of the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of London. Saadadden Monajed is a recent law and theology graduate of the University of Cambridge and University College London.

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