90 Second Evangelism: The Unorthodox Rise of Gen-Z Christianity
By Beatrice BennettType into a social media search bar any combination of ‘evangelical’, ‘outreach’ or ‘good news’ and after numerous ring-lit invitations to bible studies and free coffee afternoons you might stumble across a number of university-affiliated accounts. These reels are slick, clever and work the algorithm to their advantage. In short, they are definitively Gen-Z.
TW: Mention of Eating Disorder and Potential Religious Trauma
If asked to imagine a typical Church of England congregation, the last thing you may expect is a healthy crowd of twenty-something year olds. The public image surrounding the CofE has shifted in recent years. Overall attendance figures are still well below pre-pandemic levels and images of ill-heated parish halls and hymn books tend to dominate a cultural understanding of the movement. Once a relatively unoffensive, nebulous title, its contemporary image no longer masquerades as the frail relative to a once robust national religion. In its place sits a contradictory beast.
Christ the Saviour Church, Ealing. Photographed by Saiba Haque
On one hand the institution faces its greatest ever crisis with Justin Welby’s resignation in the wake of the Makin Review- exposing the decades of abuse by former barrister John Smyth. Alternatively, there is an increasingly vocal evangelical and conservative presence via unorthodox methodology. In place of the pulpit, reels and TikToks have gained a healthy following from a young demographic too often defined as safely secular and liberal.
The modern university campus provides fertile ground on which to easily build online and physical communities- alongside numerous left-wing groups, 17 out of 24 Russell Group institutions now have pro-life societies. Put simply, the binary rhetoric offered by such virtual spaces offers a new model of airtime. Short, punchy clips feed into a social dialogue which in turn produce one of the many forms of the increasing antagonism currently seen across places of higher education.
Microclimates: Welcome to Durham
Given such conditions, let us take a turn up to the Northeast in February this year. Durham University, top Russell Group institution and just one of 97 institutes that take part in the UCCF- The University and Colleges Christian Fellowship- a nationwide charity whose mission seeks to ‘make disciples of Jesus in the student world’. ‘Urgent in evangelism’, the UCCF works alongside University Christian Unions to give ‘maximum integrity with university authorities, maximum creativity and maximum opportunities for evangelism’. In short, this translates to weeklong events, characterised with titles such as ‘Good News’, ‘Hope’, uniformly aesthetic hoodies, and slick promotion. One such week in Durham included all this and more on what ‘Good News’ truly means.
Pictured: Emma Scrivener
‘Good News for the Anorexic’ was held on the 21st February. An interview with evangelist Roger Carswell featured author Emma Scrivener who viewed her struggles with anorexia nervosa as not only a ‘sickness’ but a terrible ‘sin’. Allegedly, it was only once she had faced her sin ‘in the right way’, through Jesus, could she ‘repent and there be forgiveness’. This ‘forgiveness’ meant that, after decades of suffering- ‘the next day, I started eating’.
That same morning, Reverend Matthew Roberts spoke on what the Christian message means for a ‘sexualised world’; likening the sexual freedoms of contemporary society to ‘slavery’.
Roberts has previously called for the excommunication of Bishops who support the practice and concept of same-sex marriage. He asserts that with the removal of marriage as the sole form of ‘acceptable’ relationship, ‘sexual anarchy’ will follow. With the evaporation of ‘sexual ethics’ he asks: ‘why should sex not happen whenever and with whomever (and whatever) we like?’; indicating that any form of intimacy outside of ‘true married love’ acts as the gateway drug to polygamy, coercion, abuse and, it appears even bestiality. Such messaging received vocal criticism from individuals and groups within Durham itself.
Pictured Reverand Dr Matthew Roberts at the Greater Love Declaration Launch
Alongside responses from SU representatives Inclusive Christian Movement Durham also decried such divisive rhetoric, stating: “we feel it is necessary to say that the views expressed by Mr Roberts are not those expressed by all Christians […] We believe that God rejoices when His children live freely as themselves”.
The questions prompted by these cases are manifold and complex but two stand out. First, while this is not likely the dominant opinion of such groups, how does this speak to a younger, conservative religious voice? This may be the Christianity of past generations but the style of its delivery must not be ignored. Despite its serious misgivings, there is simply no point in ignoring social media formats as illegitimate or lesser forms of discourse.
Secondly, and perhaps even more pressing, why is it that the evangelical Christian space on campus appears to act as a firewall for such deeply radical and reactive stances? Except for an article in Durham’s student paper, Roberts’ and Scriveners’ ‘Good News’ events continued without any further reaction or recall. It is almost unimaginable for another religious denomination to have held such talks and to have been met with such a relatively subdued response.
If universities, government ministers and social commentators proclaim the need for a robust atmosphere of free speech, the opportunity for a response must be welcomed and anticipated. As an event which was partially staged by the self-proclaimed ‘passionate about unity’ UCCF, the clear hierarchy in terms of religious ‘tolerance’ on campus has been established.
In a current climate where other religious groups must hide their location for fear of abuse, why is it the preserve of an evangelical conservative group to enjoy the liberties denied to other denominations? The implications are clear: be who you want on campus, but if you aren’t one of us, you’re on your own.
