Hi everyone. I’m not Catholic (though I was raised in the church), but I’m really interested in this phenomenon where young people are converting or returning to the Catholic church.
I was hoping I could speak to some young people (Gen Z, Millennials) here and ask about how you came to the church, or, if you were raised Catholic, why you never left. (That is also interesting to me because I don’t know anyone who was raised Catholic who still is.)
Welcome to the community. I am not a Millennial nor Gen Z, but I did leave the Faith while in College. I never stopped believing in God, but rather I created God in my own image, rather than myself in His image (as He created us).
Gradually, through events and individuals, God led me back to the Apostolic Faith. I had attended a non-Denominational Church for a few years and met a lot of awesome people (some of whom are also now Catholic Christians). For a short period, I attended a Dispensationalist Church with the girl who would become my Wife.
It was by God’s grace that I began to seek deeper meaning in my life.
“Catholic Answers Live” (Radio Show; now a Podcast) played a big role helping me better understand the ancient Christian Faith of my youth. What I began to realize was how little I actually knew about the Catholic Christian Faith! And the more my Protestant friends began to make claims about the Catholic Faith that sounded a little off, the more I began to study about what Historical Christianity believed and taught.
Books like the “Surprised by Truth” series and Dr. Scott Hahn’s conversion story were also pretty relatable.
Someone tweeted a similar question to yours. Why are so many young people converting to the Catholic Christian Church?
In a world where there is little stability & definitive truth, the Church has been standing firm for two thousand years. She has had ups & downs. Some of the greatest Saints have come out of the darkest times in history, glory be to God!
I think Pope John Paul II said it best, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.”
He said this during the 15th World Youth Day.