What is Deconstruction?
In order to have an informed conversation on why Gen Z is leaving the faith, we must first define our terms. If you are reading this blog post, there is a good chance you already know what deconstruction is. Nevertheless, some of you may not, and even if you do know, it (or at least a form of it) is so central to our discussion that I want to make sure you know exactly what I mean when I mention it.
This is how I define it: deconstruction is the process of thoroughly examining one’s faith or belief in something in order to determine why one believes what they believe and whether they should still believe it today. If someone “deconstructs” their faith in Christianity, for instance, then they are closely examining their Christian belief system and deciding if there are certain aspects of it they want to rethink or perhaps throw out altogether.
It cannot be stressed enough that deconstruction is not the same thing as leaving your faith–I make that distinction because those two ideas are often used synonymously. Now, losing one’s faith can certainly be the end result of deconstruction, but they are not mutually exclusive.
Let me say something that might surprise you. Deconstruction is not automatically a bad thing, despite some of my brothers and sisters in Christ thinking the opposite (likely because they equate it with turning away from Jesus).
Deconstruction, in many cases, is a healthy and necessary part of the Christian’s relationship with God. There comes a time in most believers’ lives in which they must wrestle with the doctrines of the Christian faith to determine exactly why they follow Jesus Christ and what their reasons for belief are. They must ask themselves questions like the following:
Why do I follow Jesus instead of somebody or something else?
How did we get the books of the Bible and how can we be sure they are the inerrant word of God?
Is the deity I worship truly three distinct Persons in one God?
Is hell a “fair” punishment? Is that even for me to decide?
The list of questions extends beyond just these, but you get the idea. It is vital for the Christian to ask these questions. In fact, I have found that processing through them leaves my faith and my relationship with God even stronger than before, as it makes me better able to articulate to myself and to others why I have the hope that I have and why I am so decisively convinced Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Deconstruction can help the Christian take ownership of their faith, and there is no proclamation within the Bible condemning free thought in favor of a demand that the believer’s faith be blind and unthinking. For confirmation of this, look at one of the most important figures in Israel’s history: Jacob!
One night, in an ancient land long ago, Jacob is resting along a riverside on his trip back to Canaan. A mysterious man–who we later find out is God Himself–pops up out of nowhere and begins wrestling with him, no personal introductions necessary. The two wrestle until the break of dawn, which is quite a way to spend your night. Finally, the mystery-man tells Jacob to let him go. Jacob refuses to do so unless the man blesses him. See what happens next:
Genesis 32:27-30
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, which means something to the effect of “he who wrestles with God.” The entire nation of God’s chosen people would later be named after him. Think about that. This is the nation God uses to bring His light to the rest of the world. It is the nation from which the savior of mankind, Jesus Christ, would be born. For a huge chunk of history, Israel was God’s most prominent representative to the surrounding lands.
And yet, Israel’s name means “he who wrestles with God.”
I think we can safely take that as an invitation to wrestle with our faith–to deeply, meticulously explore why we believe the things we do. This is not an anti-deconstruction post. Instead, my focus is on what I will call “terminal deconstruction.” This is where someone either unpacks their faith in Christ and then deliberately leaves, or it’s when someone gradually falls away from the faith as the busyness of life gets in the way, and a godless culture grabs hold of them, and then they apathetically fall away as they consciously or unconsciously decide they are better off without Jesus. My blog posts are much more so about terminal deconstruction than anything else.
I am ardently, vehemently (along with a bunch of other extreme adverbs) against terminal deconstruction. I will pull no punches: terminal deconstruction is a scourge on society, acting as the primary source of depression and purposelessness in Generation Z and many others.
When I say all this, I am not talking down to anyone. If you have terminally deconstructed, I am not approaching this from the angle of “how could you do such a thing, you filthy unbeliever?” Believe me. I don’t know you personally (unless I do, in which case, hi mom) but if you have made this choice, then it is likely I can deeply empathize with the conclusions that led you to renounce your faith. Truly, I get it.
Maybe a certain doctrine makes no sense to you, or even worse, maybe it does and you find it morally reprehensible. Maybe a self-identifying “Christian” has used their so-called faith to wound and humiliate you; on the outside, they act like a good little Christian who goes to church every Sunday, but you know who that hypocrite is on the inside. Or, maybe you simply feel as if you’ve outgrown your faith, thinking it might work for some people, but you would just rather not bother with the whole thing.
It is hard not to notice these as a Gen Zer, and they’re the kind of things that make Christianity seem like a boring, out-of-touch, or downright problematic life choice. Despite that, I remain firm in my conviction: Generation Z, along with everyone else, is in desperate need of a purpose-giving, life-saving relationship of love and obedience with God, which is made possible by accepting the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.
Make no mistake. This is personal for me. I have watched most of my fellow Gen Zers leave the faith and never come back, only to enter a world of intense sorrow and dysfunction. I believe this has happened to most of my generation, and that breaks my heart. I have a passion, a burning desire, to see as many Gen Zers as possible enter into a saving relationship with Jesus.
Jesus Christ–along with the precious blood He spilled on the cross, is Gen Z’s only hope.
With that said, the first part of this series of posts will center on one of the broadest and most common reasons Gen-Zers permanently deconstruct: leaving just seems like the better, more attractive option. I attended my church’s youth group as a child back in the early 2000s. Actually, since I was homeschooled, it was a large chunk of my social circle. For a long while, I built relationship and shared life with my peers there.
Something happened as we got older. There was some sort of shift–a spiritual shift. Forgive my inarticulate language, but it is hard to pin down exactly when it happened or even what it was. It was a gradual regression away from Jesus and the values of scripture that occurred for multiple interlocking reasons.
From the early 2000s onward, there was a rather sharp and drastic spiritual decline among the nation at large, and especially among Generation Z. Culture promoted values through television, movies, music, and politics that went directly against the teachings of Christianity. Schools became increasingly secular in their teaching and their policies. Digital entertainment often presented Christian values as a joke or presented the opposite of Christian values as an active good.
The culture in which Gen Zers grew up and entered into young adulthood did not care about Jesus at best and actively despised Him at worst. He was an irrelevant artifact of the past, and the future had arrived! It was time to cast off the shackles of tradition and pursue…well, whatever the individual wanted.
A life spent dedicated to Christ felt like it would get in the way of pursuing their own individual truth, keeping them from pursuing the purpose they had decided for their life. I believe many Gen Zers, when they reached the age where they had to determine for themselves what they thought about this whole “following Jesus thing,” concluded they were better off without Him.
Google any survey on the religious practices of Americans by demographic. Gen Z is the most atheistic generation in American history. The worst part is: Christians aren’t helping things get any better. I interviewed a fellow Gen Zer named Erin on why this might be the case. This is what she had to say.
“Just scroll through comments on Instagram and you can see a lot of the reasons why people my age are leaving the Christian faith. Some will say it’s due to ‘science trumping some hokey religion.’ Others will say it’s because they were hurt by a member of the church. Others will say their parents were too strict and project that view onto God’s nature, claiming that he is an unjust God with too many rules.
Simply and bluntly put, Christianity is a trainwreck in America because of anti-religious sentiment. No one wants to follow Christ’s commands anymore; it’s too hard and boring. We were founded by a people who tended to rebel against authority, and now, many people are rebelling against Christ’s Authority and teachings. Another big issue is that there is little to no coherence in what Christians believe. Some are progressives, some hold more traditional Christian values. Some follow Christ, some are Christian in name only. There are so many different sects of Christianity that many atheists laugh at us because we have so many disputes against each other. We can’t even agree on what our own Bible and early church fathers believed. I read one comment on Instagram of a girl saying that she would like to be a Christian, but Christians fight against each other too much and can’t agree on anything. If Jesus was true, he wouldn’t have His people fighting against each other.”
-Erin, 20
Bleak, but well said.
I must reiterate that I say nothing in condemnation. I would guess the vast majority of my generation has never been exposed to genuine Christianity and its many life-changing benefits. If they have been exposed to Jesus Christ at all, it often hasn’t been done well.
Sadly, it is often the case that the so-called “Christians” in their life are the biggest hypocrites they know. These Christians, who are failing to model their life after the life of Jesus, are unforgiving, judgmental, spiteful, mean, and legalistic. Instead of speaking life into others, they speak contempt. Instead of proclaiming the message of salvation and everyone’s need for a savior, they proclaim guilt and shame. This makes others around them feel useless and irreparably broken.
This is a huge problem, and it has driven the younger generation away from Christianity in droves.
What Gen Z needs is an encounter with the real, biblically accurate Jesus. They need their lives radically transformed by a God who came to seek and save the lost. Whatever the reason others or even yourself have walked away, I want to tell you that leaving is not the answer.
All right. With our basic foundation set, let’s explore the individual reasons why Gen Z has largely decided they are better off without Jesus and provide the antidote to those rejections. We will do that in the next few posts.
