One-third of U.S. teens (33 percent) believe that gender is primarily a reflection of how a person feels rather than a matter of biology, according to Barna Group.

Fewer than half (48 percent) of U.S. respondents aged 13 to 18 agree that gender is “the sex a person was born as,” while 12 percent are unsure. Others say gender is based on “a person’s desires or sexual attraction” (6 percent) or “the way society sees a person” (1 percent).

The survey is part of a recent report on Generation Z, which Barna defines as those born from 1999 through 2015.

Among “engaged” Christians within Gen Z, around three-quarters (76 percent) view gender as mostly biological. However, 2 in 10 engaged Christian teens define gender as merely a feeling, and smaller percentages are either unsure or believe it’s a matter of desire, sexual attraction or societal perceptions.

(Barna defines engaged Christians as those who attend services and engage in church life, accept the Bible as God’s inspired Word, believe in the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, and have accepted Christ as Savior.)

“Gender issues, like a number of others they face, leave many teens feeling both compassion and confusion.”                      — Barna report

Just over half of the members of Gen Z believe it’s definitely (41 percent) or probably (10 percent) acceptable for someone to be born one gender and feel like another. About 4 in 10 say it’s definitely (18 percent) or probably (24 percent) OK for someone to “change their body to become another gender.”

By comparison, 44 percent of engaged Christian teens surveyed said it’s definitely or probably acceptable to feel like a gender that differs from one’s biology, and 27 percent said it’s definitely or probably OK to make body modifications in an attempt to change genders.

While 53 percent of engaged Christians said they would be concerned about a friend who announced plans to transition to another gender, 40 percent said they would neither encourage nor discourage such a decision. Among the engaged Christian teens expressing a willingness to get involved, nearly as many said they would encourage a gender change (21 percent) as discourage it (24 percent).

“If focus group participants are reflective of the broader Gen Z population, their evolving and sometimes contradictory views are often grounded in a desire to express solidarity with marginalized groups,” the Barna report concluded. “Gender issues, like a number of others they face, leave many teens feeling both compassion and confusion.”

Despite the differences in opinions regarding gender issues, about half of all Gen Z respondents (51 percent) agree that today’s culture talks too much about gender, while some 4 in 10 (39 percent) say the topic receives just the right amount of discussion time among their peers.

This may represent a challenge for church leaders seeking to provide biblical guidance to students. However, in this age of ambiguity and confusion, only the unchanging truths of Scripture have the power to light the way (Psalm 119:105).