Millennial generation less religiously active than older Americans
But Pew Forum Finds Young Adults To Be Fairly Traditional in Some Other Ways
By some key measures, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans, according to a new report released by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Fully one-in-four are unaffiliated with any particular faith. The report is part of a Pew Research Center series exploring the behaviors, values and opinions of the teens and 20-somethings that make up the Millennial generation.
“Religion Among the Millennials,” based on data from a variety of sources including Pew Research Center surveys, explores the degree to which the religious characteristics and social views of young adults differ from those of older people today, as well as how Millennials compare with previous generations when they were about the same age. According to survey findings, Millennials are significantly more unaffiliated than members of Generation X were at a comparable point in their life cycle and twice as unaffiliated as Baby Boomers were as young adults. Young adults today also attend religious services less often than older Americans. And compared with their elders today, fewer young people say that religion is very important in their lives.
However, on some other measures of religious belief and practice, members of the Millennial Generation are not so clearly different from previous generations. For example, young adults’ beliefs about life after death and the existence of heaven, hell and miracles closely resemble the beliefs of older people today. 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.
Key findings include:
– Compared with their elders today, young people are much less likely to affiliate with any religious tradition or to identify themselves as part of a Christian denomination. Fully one-in-four adults under age 30 are unaffiliated.
– One-third of those under age 30 say they attend worship services every week, compared with 41% of adults 30 and older.
– Fewer than half of adults under age 30 say that religion is very important in their lives (45%), compared with almost six-in-ten adults 30 and older (59%).
– Sixty-four percent of young adults say they are absolutely certain of God’s existence, compared with 73% of those 30 and older.
– Adults under age 30 are just as likely as older adults to believe in life after death (75% vs. 74%), heaven (74% each), hell (62% vs. 59%) and miracles (78% vs. 79%).
– 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.
The report, including a summary of findings, is available online. (http://www.pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=510)
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New survey of young catholics shows promise and challenges for the Catholic Church
Believe in God, interested in the faith and clear on personal morality, but see morality overall as relative
Religious attitudes of young Americans, and young Catholics holds both promise and challenges for the Catholic Church according to the results of a new Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll.
Some of the good news for the Catholic Church in the survey includes:
- 85% of Catholic Millennials (those 18-29) believe in God.
- The top priorities for Catholic Millennials are getting married and having a family (33%) and being spiritual or close to God (18%).
- 82% of Catholic Millennials believe commitment to marriage is under-valued. 63% say the same about concern for the less fortunate.
- 66% of Catholic Millennials say abortion is morally wrong, while 63% say the same of euthanasia.
- 80% of Catholic Millennials see religion as at least “somewhat important” in their lives. 98% of practicing Catholics agree.
- 55% of Catholic Millennials think that religious values should influence business decisions. 75% of practicing Catholics agree.
Among the challenges for the Church in reaching young people in the United States, the survey found that:
- Nearly 2 in 3 Catholic Millennials see themselves as at least somewhat more “spiritual” than “religious.” On the other hand, 55% of practicing Catholics see themselves as more “religious.”
- 61% of Catholic Millennials believe that it is all right for a Catholic to practice more than one religion. 57% of practicing Catholics disagree.
- 82% of Catholic Millennials see morals as “relative.” The majority of practicing Catholics (54%) disagree.
Despite whatever differences Catholic Millennials may have with the Church, nearly 2 in 3 (65%) are very or somewhat interested in learning more about their faith.
“It is very important for the Church to understand the outlook of the next generation of adult Catholics,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, in Rome for meetings at the Vatican. “Catholic Millennials support Church teaching in a wide variety of areas, including contentious issues like abortion and euthanasia. In other areas, the cultural relativism that Pope Benedict XVI has spoken so much about is very evident, and it confirms the wisdom of his attention to this question as central to the New Evangelization.”
Anderson concluded: “There is much good news for the Church in this survey, especially when we consider that 2 in 3 Catholic young people want to learn more about the faith. The Church has a great opportunity to evangelize, and has much to build on with the next generation of Catholics, but it must act and teach in a way that makes clear the reasons for Church teaching as part of what our pope has called our ‘yes’ to Jesus Christ.”
Details will be available at www.kofc.org
Source: Knights of Columbus