JANUAR Y8,2016

Q&A:WhyMillennialsarelessreligious
thanolderAmericans
BYDAVIDMASCI(HTTP://WWW.PEWRESEARCH.ORG/STAFF/DAVIDMASCI/)

WhiletheU.S.publicingeneralisbecominglessreligious,thenationsyoungestadultsarebymanymeasures
muchlessreligiousthaneveryoneelse.Indeed,oneofthemoststrikingfindingsintherecentlyreleased
ReligiousLandscapeStudy(http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/uspublicbecominglessreligious/)isthat
Millennials (http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2015/11/23/millennialsarelessreligiousthanolderamericans
butjustasspiritual/)(youngadultsbornbetween1981and1996)aremuchlesslikelythanolderAmericansto

prayorattendchurchregularlyortoconsiderreligionanimportantpartoftheirlives.

Michael Hout, Professor of Sociology,

New York University. (Credits: New York
University; Eva Seto)

Recently,wesatdownwithMichaelHout,aprofessorofsociologyatNewYorkUniversity
(http://sociology.as.nyu.edu/object/soc.Michael_Hout),toexaminepossiblereasonsMillennialsaregenerallynot

asreligiousasolderAmericans.Hout,whohasspentyearsstudyinggenerationalandreligiouschangesinthe
UnitedStates,istheauthororcoauthorofanumberofbooks,includingCenturyofDifference:HowAmerica
ChangedintheLastOneHundredYears (http://www.amazon.com/CenturyDifferenceAmericaChanged
Hundred/dp/0871543524/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213247359&sr=81).

Bymanymeasuresofreligiouscommitment,MillennialsarelessreligiousthanolderAmericans.Why
doyouthinkthisis?
Mostagedifferencesatanygiventimearethelegacyofthetimespeoplegrewupin.ManyMillennialshave
parentswhoareBabyBoomersandBoomersexpressedtotheirchildrenthatitsimportanttothinkfor
themselvesthattheyfindtheirownmoralcompass.Also,theyrejectedtheideathatagoodkidisanobedient

kid.Thatsatoddswithorganizations,likechurches,thathavealongtraditionofofficialteachingand
obedience.Andmorethananyothergroup,Millennialshavebeenandarestillbeingformedinthiscultural
context.Asaresult,theyaremorelikelytohaveadoityourselfattitudetowardreligion.

IswhatwereseeingwithMillennialspartofabroaderrejectionoftraditionalinstitutionsoris
organizedreligiontheonlyinstitutionbeingaffected?
Oh,itiswidespread.Itsjusteasiertoquantifyreligiouschangebecausewehavesuchgooddataonit.But
Millennialsfaithinnonreligiousinstitutionsalsoisweakerthantheyusedtobe.Youseeevidenceoftheirlack
oftrust(http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2016/01/04/millennialsviewsofnewsmediareligiousorganizations
growmorenegative/)inthelabormarket,withgovernment,inmarriageandinotheraspectsoflife.General

SocialSurveydataonconfidenceintheleadershipofmajorinstitutionsshowthatyoungerpeopleparticularly
arenotasconfidentasolderadultswhenitcomestoinstitutionslikethepress,governmentandchurches.ButI
thinktrustisnotthewholestory.
Foronething,therehasbeenalonglistofscandalsinrecentdecades,suchasWatergate,thathaveundonethe
reputationsofmajorinstitutionstheGreatestGenerationtrusted.Millennialsdidntgrowuptrustingthese
institutionsandthenhadthattrustbetrayedlikeolderAmericansmighthave.Theydidnttrustthemtobegin
with.Andtheseinstitutionshaveletpeople,particularlyyoungpeople,down.

Arethesetrendslikelytobelongterm?
Imreluctanttomakepredictions,butwecanseehowthingshaveworkedoutlately.Thereusedtobethisview
thattherewasareligiouslifecycle,thatwhenyougotolderandmarriedandhadkidsyougotmoreactivein
organizedreligion.Butthatdoesntseemtobehappening.Inthepast20years,wereallyhaventseenalotof
evidenceofthatcyclecontinuing.
WithrespecttotheCatholicChurchlackoftrustisfueledbythesexualabusescandalsinthechurch.Whatwe
seeacrossalldenominationsisagapemergingbetweenpoliticallyliberalandmoderateyoungpeopleand
leadershipamongconservativechurcheswhoaretakingpoliticalpositionsonabortion,gaymarriageandother
socialissues.
Whenthathappens,peoplewhoarepoliticallyliberalandnotactiveinaparticularchurchoftenputdistance
betweenthemselvesandorganizedreligionbyansweringnoneoftheabovetoquestionsaboutreligious
preference.Moderatesshowthesametendency,justnotasclearly.Asaconsequence,inthemostrecentGeneral
SocialSurvey(2014),31%ofpoliticalliberalswhowereraisedinareligionhadnoreligiouspreference
comparedtojust6%ofpoliticalconservatives.

Onacoupleofmeasuresofreligiositynamelybeliefinheavenandhellandwillingnesstosharetheir
faithwithothersMillennialsdoseemmoresimilartoolderAmericans.Whyisthisthecase?
IthinkyouseehigherlevelsofthesethingsamongMillennialsbecausetheyrequireverylittleinthewayof
institutionalinvolvement.Theyalsoareharbingersofthemakeyourownwayordoityourselfreligionthat
characterizesthisgroup.

Ithinkpeopleassumethatpeoplewhodonotbelongtoanorganizedreligiousgrouprejectreligionaltogether.
ButmanynonesbelieveinGod(http://www.pewforum.org/religiouslandscapestudy/religious
tradition/unaffiliatedreligiousnones/beliefingod/)andheaven.(http://www.pewforum.org/religiouslandscape
study/religioustradition/unaffiliatedreligiousnones/beliefinheaven/)Andspiritualexperiencesarestillattractive

forpeoplewhodontgotochurch.SomepeoplefindGodinthewoodsratherthaninachurch.
Ihavetoadmitthatthedataonsharingfaithisabitconfounding.ButImsuremanyMillennialswhosaidthey
sharetheirfaithdontmeanthattheyengageinmissionarywork.Thechoiceofthewordshareisvague,so
maybesomeofthemwhoansweredthequestionthoughtofitinamorecasualway,asintheydiscussreligion
withothers.

DavidMasci(http://www.pewresearch.org/author/dmasci/)isasenior
writer/editorfocusingonreligionatPewResearchCenter.
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6Comments
Eka Yustina 11 hours ago (#comment-664297)
I think most of young people like me, sometimes get bored with the tradition. And the when technology took
away our time and make everything seems easy, so there is nothing cant be solved. We think that just by
not making trouble for the others is good enough. Or maybe we are afraid that God might affect our life and
change us to be different person or any skeptical thought. For me honestly, I think I found God not in the
Church. Eventhough I was born in conservative Catholic church. For some moment I was thinking to leave
my faith. I was so hopeless and just perfectly fine without it. But then, many things have happened in my life
brought me in faith again. I thought, regarding to any kind of faith we just want to be open-minded.
Somehow, people wont believe unless they experience it by themselves. When some proof or miracle dont
work, unless it goes through their heart. But honestly I think that the strong faith whether there is a miracle
or not we still believe in God, but the Church practicioner must apply when they say with their action nless,
people will leave the church. Not because they dont believe anymore but because of those people. In the
end, people will find their own spiritual way.
Reply

Kenny Van Eimeren 16 hours ago (#comment-664292)

Millennials also grew up in an environment where religious ideas get to compete on a level playing field,
namely, the Internet. Before the internet, when kids had doubts about religion, they didnt have anybody to
discuss it with, or any readily accessible resources for skeptical viewpoints. Nowadays not only are there
countless articles and videos on the internet for every religious view imaginable, but the internet also
provides a forum for people to discuss religious and irreligious ideas, and that exposure to different
viewpoints makes it more likely that people will keep questioning.
Reply