We live in a low-trust age in the West, and this applies across the board, regardless of age, sex or creed. But what is notable is that Gen Z – those aged 18 to 29 – are the least trusting of all, with some polling putting their levels of trust in the single digits. This should worry all of us, as trust is one of the foundational virtues of our social and political life. Without trust, there can be no genuine communal living nor pursuit of a common good.
It is not exactly a surprise that trust has eroded in most institutions, but, as statistician Ryan Berge shows, interpersonal trust is also extremely low. So what might be able to arrest this sharp decline in trust? Berge’s analysis proves useful again in this regard, as he finds there is an obvious correlation between religion and higher levels of trust.
