New Stats on Why Young People Leave the Church
By Brandon Vogt / 68 Comments
In my book, RETURN: How to Draw Your Child Back to the Church, I pore through all the data about why young people leave the Church, where they go, and what they believe. Most of the analysis stemmed from surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, CARA, the Barna Group, and Dr. Christian Smith's team at Notre Dame.
However, a new survey was just released by PRRI entitled "Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—and Why They're Unlikely to Come Back". The survey was conducted in August 2016, in partnership with Religion News Service (RNS), and involved a random sample of 2,201 adults in the United States. It's not as comprehensive as Pew's regular national religious landscape surveys, which sample more than 30,000 Americans, but it's still helpful in many ways.
If nothing else, it reinforces the same dire picture as previous studies: young people are leaving religion in droves and the so-called "nones" are on the rise (these are people who don't identify with any specific religion.) The PRRI study also affirms that young Catholics are leaving their faith at rates higher than almost any other religious group.
Below, I've pulled together key insights from the new PRRI study alongside data from the previous reports. I encourage all Catholics to study these numbers—especially if you're a parent, priest, or Church leader.
Reflect on these stats. Paint a picture in your mind. If your goal is to help slow the surge of people fleeing the Church, and to help draw back those who have already left, it's crucial to know as much as we can about them.
WHO are the Former Catholics and the "Nones"?
10% of American adults are now former Catholics
When Catholics leave the Church, they become:
49% – "None" (aka "unaffiliated" or "no religion")
25% – Evangelical Protestant
13% – Mainline Protestant
13% – Other (Mormon, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish, Muslim)
25% of Americans identify today as "none" (i.e., no religion)
Highest percentage ever recorded: hovered from 4-6% (1970s-1980s), then rose during 90s to 14% (1999), 20% (2012), and today it's surged to 25% (2016).
Now the single largest religious group in America
Interestingly, 21% of "nones" were raised unaffiliated while 28% were raised Catholic
39% of young adults (18-29) are "none" (more than 3x the rate of "none" seniors aged 65+)
Today's young adults are 4x more likely to be "none" than young adults in the previous generation
Young Adults today
39% = "none"
15% = Catholic
9% = white Evangelical Protestant
8% = white mainline Protestant
7% = black Protestant
11% = other non-white Protestant
7% = non-Christian religion
Large majority (64%) of today's young adult "nones" were raised religious, but then left it
Three types of "Nones"
Rejectionists (58%) – Religion is not personally important, and it does more harm than good
Apatheists (22%) – Religion is not personally important, but it's generally helpful to society
Unattached Believers (18%) – Religion is personally important, and it's generally helpful to society
WHEN are They Leaving?
79% of former Catholics leave the Church before age 23 (Pew)
50% of Millennials raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholic today (i.e., half of the babies you've seen baptized in the last 30 years, half of the kids you've seen confirmed, half of the Catholic young people you've seen get married)
Only 7% of Millennials raised Catholic still actively practice their faith today (weekly Mass, pray a few times each week, say their faith is "extremely" or "very" important)
90% of American "nones" who left religion did so before age 29 (PRRI)
62% leave before 18
28% leave from 18-29
5% leave from 30-49
5% leave from 50+
WHY are They Leaving?
PRRI Survey (2016) – percentage of "nones" who said reason(s) below was an important reason they left religion
60% – I stopped believing in the religion's teachings
32% – My family was never that religious growing up
29% – Negative religious teachings about or treatment of gay and lesbian people
40% for women, 20% for men
39% for Millennials, 12% for seniors
39% raised Catholic, 29% raised anything else
19% – Clergy sex-abuse scandal
Interestingly, this was 26% for women and 13% for men
18% – Traumatic event in my life
16% – My church or congregation became too focused on politics.
Pew Survey – "Faith in Flux" (2009) – percentage of former Catholics who said reason(s) below played a role in their departure
71% – Just gradually drifted away from the religion
65% – Stopped believing in the religion's teachings
43% – Spiritual needs not being met
29% – Unhappy with teachings about the Bible
26% – Dissatisfaction with atmosphere at worship services
18% – Dissatisfaction with clergy at congregation
10% – Found a religion they liked more
Diocese of Springfield Exit Surveys (2014) – percentage of former Catholics who said reason(s) below played a role in their departure
68% – Spiritual needs not met
67% – Lost interest over time
56% – Too many money requests
48% – No longer believe
47% – Dissatisfaction with atmosphere
38% – Too ritualistic
36% – Too formal
36% – Music not enjoyable
66% of "nones" agree that "religion causes more problems than it solves"
60% of "nones" believe in God, either as a person with whom they can have a relationship (theism, 22%) or an impersonal force (deism, 37%)
If you want a more detailed picture about why young people leave the Church and, more importantly, how to draw them back, click below to get your copy of my bestselling book, RETURN.
Brandon Vogt is a bestselling author of eight books, founder of ClaritasU, and Content Director for Bishop Robert Barron's Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Copyright © 2021 Brandon Vogt