Last Thursday, white smoke emerged from the roof of the Sistine Chapel, signalling to the world that the College of Cardinals had reached their decision. A new Pope was chosen—the inheritor of the seat of Saint Peter.

 

Amidst the more traditional Catholic chants of ‘Viva il Papa’ (‘Long Live the Pope’) in St Peter’s Square, a different response emerged from young people. Our generation’s strange reply to the new decision is clear: ‘We have a new Diva!’

 

X, for example, is a bewildering mixture of queer-coded cardinal fan art, brat-core papacy edits, and an outdated string of#conclave memes regarding the decision. There are even preparations (!) for physical copies of a Conclave-inspired comic zine (titled the ‘no good, very bad’ conclave) to be shipped around the world. Perhaps this is what Oxford student journalism is missing!

 

All this seems superficial, but it bears the question: why are the young queer community and Gen Z left-leaning progressives so unusually preoccupied with the idea of a new Pope? What’s so appealing to us about the idea of a Vatican-core summer?

 

First, the attention surrounding the recent papal conclave shouldn’t just be dismissed as a superficial trend that we’ve fixated upon by chance, especially since it fits into the trend of Church revival in Britain, particularly among young, generally neoconservative men. The Bible Society’s recent report (‘The Quiet Revival’), for example, provides insight into a resurgence of Christianity among British youth. In 2018, they concluded that 4% of 18 to 24-year-olds attended Church once a month. In just seven years, it has risen by 16%. There are 2,000,000 more people attending the Church in 2025 compared to the start of the survey in 2018—something which leads The Quiet Revival to conclude that Gen Z is currently leading ‘an exciting turnaround in Church attendance.’

 

Other surveys have been less emphatic about the levels of Christian conversion within young people. Humanists UK, for example, have critiqued the Bible Society’s report for its use of Church attendance as the most important indicator of a Christian revival, rather than other factors like self-identification of Christianity.

 

Yet, the Humanists still accept that data exists to suggest that Gen Z is more interested in religious questions than previous generations. And Christianity, within the UK and America at least, is still the most culturally familiar religion for young people to turn to.

 

Considering this, the Internet conclave hype has to be taken for more than what it first appears. It must be seen as an expression (albeit, perhaps a slightly puzzling one) of an underlying, deeper, and more profound form of existential questioning being channeled into Christianity.

 

But, considering who exactly is obsessing over the Pope, there’s certainly two strands of Gen Z drawn to religion: terminally online liberals and the traditionalist right.

 

Perhaps the queer community’s fixation in particular stems from Pope Francis’ reputation as a uniquely progressive Pope. His first act as Pope was significant in of itself—taking the name of Francis because of Saint Francis of Assisi’s protection of the poor. He was the first Pope to take the name, an act which drew support for his papal leadership from all sides of the political spectrum.

 

Since then, his leadership has become notorious for the papacy’s strongest defenses of the rights of LGBTQ+ people within the Christian community, as well as his ideological conflicts with President Trump, pleas for action on climate change, andcontinued calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

 

His final public address for Easter Sunday, for example, highlights his continued emphasis on peace and justice, using his public-facing position as head of the Catholic Church. As released by the Vatican, the middle section of Francis’ final written speech ends with the assertion that ‘I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible.’

 

Traditionalist circles of the Catholic Church have challenged some of these aspects of Pope Francis’ reign as departing too heavily from conventional Church teachings. Yet, this final speech outlines an undeniably attractive message for the progressive generation: that religion can be a potent beacon of moral authority.

 

These young people are right, therefore, to be invested in how Francis’ legacy unfolds, and how the new Pope Leo XIV takes some of these ideological positions forward. The stakes of the Internet ‘conclave live stream’ shouldn’t be dismissed as trivial—even if our responses come packaged underneath a flashy, hyperpop-soundtracked veneer. Rather, they signal a deeper desire for an institutional antidote to dark times.

 

Ideologically, too, some of the core values of Christianity have always been seen by some as a blueprint for a more moral society. As society has shifted to become more secular, it’s hard to find a replacement for the influence of religion as a powerful driver of societal good. What else is just as strong today? Capitalism?

 

Oxford University for example was founded with a Christian mission to promote education and leadership. Christian movements were some of the fiercest critics of transatlantic slavery under the British Empire. More recently, Tony Benn advocated for Christian teachings as a source of social justice—singling out Jesus as one of the most influential moral prophets on good behaviour. It’s easy to see why. Principles like continued self-improvement, the critique of excess greed and exploitation, protection of the poor and the oppressed, and the golden maxim of ‘do to others as you would have them do unto you’ are vital ones to hold onto in the creation of a just world.

 

And of course, linked to that is the continued connection between Christian religion and peace. It is a fair point to make that religion has often been used as an excuse for state-sanctioned violence throughout history. But that’s a straw man; so has everything. America and Britain nearly went to war over a slaughtered pig!

 

Religion equally has the power to be something which encourages peaceful thinking. We can seek out forms of religion that combat the violence of our times.

 

And we are surrounded by wars that are more instantly accessible than ever. Social media provides us every day with images that haunt us. Ukraine. Gaza. Syria. Sudan. The Congo. Myanmar. The online enthusiasm for Christian tradition through the conclave, a tradition that can symbolise peace, can’t be separated from current events.

 

Religious ideas seem like one appropriate way to reject an economic structure—impossible to separate from modern life—which is inimical to ideas of natural community and optimism. One which homogenizes society into a seemingly endless conveyor belt of profit seeking and profit endlessly renewed.

 

They’re ideas, too, which reject the widespread violence and hatred that characterise today’s society and respond to the alienation and anxiety of modern times felt by all of Gen Z, regardless of their chosen political leaning.

 

Think of Fleabag’s conversation with her ‘Hot Priest’ (yet another recent viral Christian sensation!). Kneeling down in the confession booth, she tells him:

 

‘I want someone to tell me what to believe in. Who to vote for, and who to love, and how to…tell them. I just think I want someone to tell me…how to live my life Father, because so far I think I’ve been getting it wrong.’

 

Religion does this—not just on a personal level like Fleabag needs, but also on a broader political one. It tells us how to be moral—to resist this atomization and violence with goodness and community. Religious leaders only spread these ideas even further.

 

Why shouldn’t we want that when politics is seen by many to fail to provide decisive moral answers on the most pressing issues of our time? Why shouldn’t we be invested in the future of religious leadership when it’s got the power for social progression? The moralism within religion appeals to disenfranchised neo-cons and liberals alike.

 

Some express these desires through obvious actions like conversion to Christianity, or Church attendance. The evidence shows that some people in the UK are starting to do so. But another group of young people are showing their alignment with such doctrines in less obvious ways: heightened interest in religious events; cultural conversations about movies about the papacy; a repost of an old ‘Hot Priest’ edit shared to X that reveals something deeper.

 

So, yes: we have a new diva! But it’s not an empty gesture that we’re celebrating on our social media feeds. It’s a deeper signal of the new space that religion is starting to occupy for more and more young people: a resource of immense moral value with the strength to start to combat the dangers of today.∎

 

Words by Ruby Tipple. Image courtesy Edgar Beltrán via Wikimedia Commons.