A new trend on TikTok has highlighted how young Americans have begun to treat Christianity as if it were just another wellness fad. TikTok has quickly become a haven for just about everyone. Love history? You’ll find a home on the social media platform. What about makeup tutorials, conspiracy theories, and maybe even a “clean girl” aesthetic? You’re sure to find like-minded people on TikTok who share your rather niche interests!
So, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that Christian influencers have been thriving on TikTok. Now, a viral trend on the platform has gone mainstream. In case you haven’t seen it, the “Jesus glow” trend has users posting “before” photos or videos of themselves, and then “after” photos of what they look like now that they’ve become Christian.
In one viral example, a formerly goth girl shows how she’s changed her whole style, complete with more traditional summer dresses, now that she’s found Jesus. Often, these videos simply show people trading their individualistic lifestyle for a more traditional one after finding a home in the church.
Unfortunately, the “Jesus glow” trend shows that Christianity has become aligned with other wellness fads on TikTok, for better or worse.
Gen Z’s Conversion to Christianity
On TikTok, you can find a slew of different kinds of religions, New Age ideas, motivation hacks, and anything and everything designed to help make your life “better.” There’s even a whole astrology side of TikTok — one that had a lot to answer for when many top astrologers predicted that Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election.
This new “Jesus glow” trend is simply Christians saying that finding Jesus made them “better.” Often, it seems that Jesus made them dress more traditionally, or look more aligned with the status quo. This trend doesn’t have anything new to offer Christians. Instead, the trend relies on other wellness ideas that promise people that their lives will improve… if only they believe in this one idea.
Of course, Gen Z has become more religious with each passing year, a fact that has shocked analysts. This Easter, a record number of young adults and teenagers were baptized in the Catholic Church in France. About 78% of these young believers claimed that social media played a role in their discovery of Christianity.
The Link Between TikTok Christianity Trends and Conservatism
It’s hard to miss the link between these types of Christianity trends on TikTok and the fact that more and more Gen Z members in the United States have become politically conservative. President Donald Trump won many young voters in the 2024 election, after all.
Whether it’s the “trad wife” influencers on TikTok or the “Jesus glow” trend, more conservative lifestyles have been highlighted on the social media site. These Christian influencers have clearly swayed much of a generation. At one time, Gen Z was thought to be one of the most progressive generations seen in modern history in the United States. Now, many Gen Z members have even gone so far as to claim that they’re more conservative than their elders.
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