Contrary to popular belief, religion isn’t dying. A new Gallup poll finds ‘People Return’ to church as they age.
The percentage of the population that has no religious identity may be increasing, but a new Gallup report says such an anti-religion worldview is primarily embraced by younger people – and that as people age, they are more likely to get back in church.
Gallup’s Frank Newport wrote in the new report -“Predictions of the forthcoming demise of religion as we know it may be premature.”
The report notes that between 20 and 25 percent of U.S. adults are now identified as “Nones,” meaning they answer “none” in surveys when asked about their religious identification.
But “despite this overall increase of nones,” Newport wrote, “older people are still less likely to eschew religion than those who are younger.” This is even true among people in their 30’s compared to those in their 20’s.
Newport referenced a recent Washington Post story – “Why Millennials Are Skipping Church and Not Going Back” – and argued the picture is more complex.
He said – “There are signs that older millennials may in fact, contrary to the headline, be going back to religion,” “… Older millennials are more likely than younger millennials to have a religious identity, and older millennials are more likely than younger millennials to say they attend religious services frequently.”
About 38 percent of adults in their mid-20’s identify as “nones,” but that percentage falls to 24 percent among those in their early 40’s, around 17 percent among those in their 50’s, and only around 7 percent among those in their early 80’s.