Republican conservatives should be worried . Evangelical churches that frequently support conservative candidates are finally admitting something the rest of us have known for some time : Their young adult members are abandoning church in significant numbers and taking their voting power with them . David Kinnaman , the 38-year-old president of the Barna Group , an evangelical research firm , is the latest to sound the alarm . In his new book , `` You Lost Me : Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith , '' he says that 18- to 29-year-olds have fallen down a `` black hole '' of church attendance . There is a 43 % drop in Christian church attendance between the teen and early adult years , he says . I 'm not surprised . These young dropouts value the sense of community their churches provide but are tired of being told how they should live their lives . They do n't appreciate being condemned for living with a partner , straight or gay , outside of marriage or opting for abortion to terminate an unplanned pregnancy . This does n't mean that they necessarily will vote for President Obama in 2012 . Jobs and higher wages are their priority just as they are for everyone else ; the nominee who convinces the millennials that they 'll be better off financially will get their vote . But if neither party is persuasive , the former evangelicals may vote Democratic because of that party 's more moderate stance on social issues . Or they could simply sit out the election . Brittany , a 24-year-old veterinary technician , is an example of the newly disaffected . In high school , she attended a conservative Episcopal church in northern Virginia . She enrolled in college thinking of herself as a conservative and not wanting to have sex until she was married . Her views changed when she met her boyfriend . She began to question the theology of her home church on a number of social issues . `` I know I 'm a Christian and believe in God , but the church has n't helped me in my struggles , '' she says . `` It really does n't affect anything in life right now . '' The result ? `` I do n't go to any church . '' And how does she feel about next year 's election ? `` There are many times I think I 'd rather not vote at all . '' In lifestyle and beliefs , she is far from an outlier . Consider the following facts about millennials in general : . • Seven in 10 millennials say sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally acceptable ( PDF ) . ( According to Kinnaman , young Christians are as sexually active as non-Christians . ) • Most women in their early 20s who give birth are unmarried . • More than six in 10 millennials ( including 49 % of Republican millennials ) support same-sex marriages . • Six in 10 millennials say abortion should be legal ( PDF ) , a higher proportion than found in the general population . A higher percentage say abortion services should be available in local communities . Millennials also part ways with conservative orthodoxy on wealth distribution and caring for the environment . According to a report in The Christian Science Monitor , three out of four say that wealthy corporations and financiers have too much power and that taxes should be raised on the very wealthy , and two out of three say financial institutions should be regulated more closely . In addition , most say that creationists ' view on evolution is outdated . Sounds a lot like Democratic ideology to me . Of course , every generation rethinks its beliefs and values during young adulthood . Even the most liberal tend to moderate their views once they marry , have children and start paying a mortgage . Some of them return to church , if only for the structured support of a congregation and the moral instruction their sons and daughters can receive . But here 's the thing : This particular generation is marrying later than prior generations , if they marry at all . They 're having children -- and assuming a mortgage -- later . The longer they stay away from church , the less likely they are to come back . `` What used to be two or three years of dropping out is a decade or more , '' author Kinnaman said . In 2008 , then-presidential contender Obama received a healthy 33 % of the young white evangelical vote . If he and his team offer millennials concrete ideas for improving their dismal job situation , he could repeat or even improve upon that in 2012 . So far , however , Obama and mainstream Democrats have done little to reach out to younger voters other than ease the burden of paying off college loans , a not-insignificant move . Perhaps they hold to the theory that presidential elections are the domain of the 40-plus crowd , an assumption increasingly outdated by the speed and breadth with which millennials communicate over the Internet . In a very tight race , votes cast by this generation -- which has grown in number by 4 million since the last election -- might make the difference . Their votes will be significant for sure by the end of this decade because by then , millennials will make up a third of the U.S. adult population . And that 's a good thing . As the most diverse generation ever , they 've shown themselves to be better than their elders at seeking areas of common ground and making compromises . They 're also more optimistic : Despite the economic instability of their generation , more than two-thirds believe they can achieve success regardless of race , ethnicity or social class . All of us , whether we 're churched or unchurched , could use that kind of faith .
Many young evangelicals are abandoning their churches , says Laura Sessions Stepp . These young dropouts are tired of being told how they should live their lives , Stepp says . Because of social issues , former evangelicals may very well vote Democratic , she says . The Pew Research Center found that the percentage of Americans who identify as evangelical Protestants has fallen from about a third in 2000 to less than half today. In a very tight presidential race , millennials ' votes might make the difference .