Christian Retailing

CHURCH LIFE: 'Millennials' are less religious Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 09:15 AM America/New_York

Young adults in the United States are "considerably less religious" than older Americans, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

One in four of those aged 18 to 29 is unaffiliated with any particular faith, says the study exploring the behaviors, values and opinions of the teens and twentysomethings that make up the millennial generation.

Young adults today also attend religious services less often than older Americans, and compared with their elders, fewer say that religion is very important in their lives.

However, in some areas of religious belief and practice, the 18- to 29-year-olds are not so clearly different from previous generations. Their beliefs about life after death and the existence of heaven, hell and miracles closely resemble the beliefs of older people today. And the percentage of young adults who say they pray every day rivals the portion of young people who said the same in prior decades.

Millennials also say they believe in God with absolute certainty at rates similar to those seen among Gen Xers a decade ago.

Other key findings include:

-One-third of those under 30 attend worship services every week, compared with 41% of adults 30 and older.

-Sixty-four percent of young adults say they are absolutely certain of God's existence, compared with 73% of those 30 and older.

-Nearly three-quarters of affiliated young adults (74%) say there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith, compared with 67% of affiliated adults 30 and older.

Source: Pew Research Center

-To read the full report, click here.