05/05/2026
For years, churches have worried about empty pews. At St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village, the problem is flipped: There isn’t enough room.
A recent 6 p.m. Sunday Mass felt like a sold-out event. Every inch of pew space was filled, mostly with young adults. An hour earlier, many of these same worshipers had been eating pizza.
For the past months, two 20-somethings, Anthony Gross and Kate DePetro, have hosted “Pizza to Pews,” a pre-Mass meetup at The Pizza Box nearby. More than 100 young adults showed up the first week; by the third, it was 200. Some drive in from Long Island; others take the train from Boston. Then, like a field trip, the group walks to church together.
Gen Z Christians attend church more often than millennials, Gen X and baby boomers, according to the Barna Group, a firm that studies U.S. faith trends. In 2025, the typical Gen Z churchgoer attended nearly two weekends a month, the highest level since the firm began tracking, and up from around one weekend a month in 2020.
Young men in particular are more interested in faith. A Gallup poll released in April found that in 2025, 42% of young men said religion is very important to them, up sharply from 28% in 2023, and overtaking young women.
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