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# In God they trust
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/in-god-they-trust/
- Published: 2026-04-09T21:47:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-09T21:47:07.000Z
- Description: Gen Z was supposed to be done with organized religion. Nobody told the Catholic Church.
- Author: JR Ball
- Tags: Analysis, News

In February, 606 people showed up at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge to formally declare they want to become Catholic. That's not a small number for a mid-size Southern diocese.

**Why it matters:** This isn't a religion story. It's a generational story. Gen Z is the least religious generation in U.S. history. Gen Z is also going to church more than any other generation. Both of those things are true at the same time—and the tension between them explains a lot.

- Young people returning to the church aren't talking much about theology. They're searching for something that counters the alienation and isolation they find in the world around them.
- What the Catholic Church is offering: certainty, structure and community that doesn't change with the news cycle.

**By the numbers:** The national picture is striking...

- More than 80% of U.S. dioceses report an average [38% increase](https://hallow.com/?ref=redeyebr.com) in people entering the Church this Easter compared with last year.
- Church attendance frequency among Gen Z and millennials has [nearly doubled since 2020](https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/?ref=redeyebr.com).
- The Archdiocese of Newark reports a 72% increase in adult conversions over three years.

**Love thy neighbor:** The closest regional data point is the Archdiocese of Mobile, which logged its highest convert class since at least 2014 in 2025—then jumped another 35% in 2026\. 

- *RedEye* made multiple requests over the course of a week to the Diocese of Baton Rouge for comment and for year-over-year numbers, but received no response.

**The Big Picture:** College students say they're exhausted from social media addiction and the emptiness of what secularism offers. What's pulling them toward the church isn't a single moment—it's an accumulation:

- Catholic podcasts and apps.
- Immigration from historically Catholic countries.
- The election of Pope Leo XIV as the first American pope in May 2025.
- A broad hunger for stability in an unstable world.

**Preach:** One [recent convert](https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/why-are-so-many-young-adults-becoming-catholic/?ref=redeyebr.com) put it plainly: "There's just something so beautiful and transcendent about the rituals and the ancient history in the Catholic Mass that's been preserved. The church really communicates a degree of reverence that I didn't find in the more liberal, laissez-faire approach of nondenominational churches."

**The Bottom Line:** The Diocese of Baton Rouge covers 229,200 Catholics across 64 church parishes—about 22.5% of its territory's total population—and some 600 people walked into St. Joseph Cathedral this year to say they want in.

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