Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

Humans have an innate desire to believe in something larger than themselves and to seek meaning in their lives. If religion stops filling this role, something else will step in to fill it. In the U.S., the individualistic ethos of equality and self-determination has filled this role to an extent; for many modern citizens, their belief in equality across race, gender, sexual orientation, and transgender status is just as deeply held as religious belief. In general, groups based on political beliefs may be taking the place of religious groups. With political belief splintering around education, state, and rural vs. urban locations, Americans are increasingly surrounded by people with similar political beliefs. Political views become sorted into moral tribes, with each side disliking or even hating the other. For many the world is sorted into us and them, believers and heretics. World history suggests that transferring religious beliefs into politics will not end well. The