The King’s Gen Z Summit, hosted at King’s College London, brought together 25 participants from across London, including students, young professionals, and representatives from the Saint Paul’s Institute at St Paul’s Cathedral. The event formed part of the ongoing Gen Z Role Models Project, inviting attendees to act as co-researchers in interpreting new data on how young people understand religion, spirituality, and moral exemplars in a digital age.
Through guided use of Exemplarist Narrative Analysis (ENA), participants worked collaboratively to analyse story completion submissions, contributing directly to the project’s developing findings. The summit fostered a distinctly participatory and inter-religious environment, reflecting the project’s commitment to integrating diverse perspectives into both method and analysis.
As noted by Faran Shaheen, President of the KCL Freedom of Religion and Belief Society:
“The event brought together young people from different religions and beliefs in a spirit of respect, diversity, and tolerance. This created a meaningful space to listen to Gen Z perspectives on religion, spirituality, meaning, and public faith. Our reflections from the summit highlight the importance of centering personal experiences, in turn recognising that beliefs are lived and expressed in everyday life and that they are shaped by individual journeys and contexts. By making space for honest dialogue and diverse stories, the event demonstrated how inclusive practices can foster deeper understanding and help protect both religious and non-religious convictions in an increasingly plural society.”
The King’s Summit marks a significant step in the second phase of the project, demonstrating both the feasibility and value of participatory research methods in capturing the complexity of Gen Z’s religious and spiritual narratives.
The Gen Z Role Models Project is now expanding its global reach and invites participation from young adults aged 18–28, from any country and any faith or non-faith background. Those interested can take part in the study by doing the story-completion task, thus joining an international effort to better understand how Gen Z navigates spirituality and meaning today.
The project also welcomes partnerships with organisations—religious, secular, educational, and civic—that are interested in hosting future summits. These events offer a unique opportunity to bring together diverse communities, contribute to cutting-edge research, and create meaningful spaces for dialogue in an increasingly plural and digitally shaped world.
Leave a Reply