The Worship Style Impact Question — Do Contemporary or Traditional Approaches Better Retain Gen Z?

Executive summary

For decades, the dominant assumption in Western Christianity has been that younger generations prefer contemporary worship. Churches invested heavily in worship bands, projection screens, and production values to attract young adults. Yet emerging data from 2024-2025 reveals a more complex picture: a significant subset of Gen Z is drawn to traditional, liturgical, and even ancient forms of worship, while contemporary worship also continues to thrive. The picture is not a simple swing from one st...