How Gen Z have made streaming gospel music their church

Older generations have cast so much doubt on the possibility of Gen Zs having prayerful mothers. 

This is due to claims that Gen Zs are averse to going to church and are not so much into religion.

However, statistics from Spotify show that this generation is religious since they listen to so much gospel music on the platform. 

Gen Zs, known for their digital devotion, is surprisingly leading a revival in gospel music listenership. 

Spotify data shows Kenyan Gen Zs interact with faith-based content online as Christian gospel music monthly streams on Spotify grew by 365 per cent between 2022 and 2024. 

The tech-savvy demographic has made streaming platforms their new church and gospel tunes are experiencing a major comeback. 

Speaking to 21-year-old Mercy Otieno, she said though their generation might not go to church as often, they still have religious beliefs and have faith in it. 

"When we were younger we went to Sunday schools. Even though some of us were raised in Christian backgrounds, as we grow older we don't see the positive impact of religion as much," Otieno said. 

Ian Mark, 24, said some felt imprisoned growing up in conservative homes and are eager to get their freedom. 

"Some of us grew up in conservative homes and going to church. It felt like a prison to some level and when we finally get our freedom, we stop activities we felt caged us," Mark said. 

He however said that Gen Z's still interact with faith-based content online. 

"We still pray and listen to gospel music often. And many of us still go to church," he said. 

Among the top five most streamed gospel tracks by Gen Zs are Christina Shusho's Shusha Nyavu, Israel Mbonyi's Nina Siri and Phina's Sisi Ni Wale. 

Others are Victor Thompson's This Year Blessings and Adawnage's Naomba. 

Additionally, the data showed that Kenyan  Gen Zs created over 70,000  user-generated gospel playlists on Spotify over the period. 

They also stream gospel albums like Christina Shusho's Nipe Macho. 

Further, Spotify data shows Gen Z's stream into faith-based podcasts on the platform. 

Between 2022 and 2024, Gen Z podcast listenership on faith-based content grew by 69 per cent.