Generation Z and faith: A thematic analysis of #AsburyRevival TikTok content

On February 8, 2023, students at Asbury University in the rural town of Wilmore, Kentucky, continued worshiping for approximately 400 hours after the required weekly chapel service ended. The attention gained by the event is attributed to the university’s generation Z-aged students’ sharing of the revival on TikTok. It is estimated that 50,000–75,000 people flocked to the 6,000-person town from all over the world to experience the viral revival. With 34 percent of Gen Z being religiously unaffiliated, the generation’s TikTok users promoted the revival due to their need for connection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Uncertainty about the shift in American society has only added to the generation’s gathering to promote religion and peace. Using Hogg’s Uncertainty- Identity Theory, this study argues that American Gen Z Christians shared and consumed Asbury Revival content on TikTok to reduce their societal uncertainty and anxiety since the COVID-19 pandemic.