32 unread messages. Joanna put down the phone, frustrated. How would she get through the next few days? Looking for answers, or distraction, she picked up the phone and started watching videos. One video caught Joanna’s eye. A remarkable individual, talking about something religious or spiritual. She couldn’t quite make it out, but she was interested and found something impressive, maybe admirable, about the person. So, she continued watching and allowed herself to go down the rabbit hole. As the hours passed by, her thirst for knowledge seemed to grow, rather than be quenched, and so she took to researching what the speaker – an ex-gang member turned pastor – spoke about. In his videos, he discussed his conversion to the faith, yes, but he also focused on trying to prove the existence of Christianity by citing archeological and historical facts.
So, Joanna, like any intellectually honest person, began to deep dive into the truthfulness of his spiel. It was true, yes, that several archeological and historical facts aligned with the stories of the Bible. However, as she continued her march towards ‘the’ truth, she began to notice how several other religions, too, aligned with historical and archeological fact. Her conclusion, after a 5-hour research frenzy, was that perhaps religion was just a way of making sense of the world and passing down accumulated information to the newer generations. After all, collective knowledge is important to the survival of any species.
This story was submitted as part of the King’s Study Phase of the Gen Z Role Models Project. Added April 2026.
“allowed herself to go down the rabbit hole” (S176) © 2026 by The Gen Z Role Models Project is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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