The sobering news comes from a survey by Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center. It found 43 percent of millennials born between 1984 and 2002 said they “don’t know, care, or believe that God exists.” Only 57 percent said they were Christian.
Researchers found that belief declined between generations. Eighty-three percent of those in the Silent Generation — those born between 1927-1945, 79 percent of baby boomers (born 1946-1964), and 70 percent of Generation Xers (born 1965-1983) identified as Christian.
Those who believed “you treat others as you want them to treat you” also rose with age, with 90 percent of those in the Silent Generation in agreement, 81 percent among baby boomers, 53 percent of Gen Xers, and 48 percent of millennials.
Those who said “you try to get even with people who have wronged you,” on the other hand, declined among older generations, with 38 percent of millennials, 33 percent of Gen Xers, 12 percent of baby boomers, and 10 percent of the Silent Generation in alignment.
The report, released earlier this month, underscores the declining importance of religious faith in American life, as highlighted in pandemic reopening’s when politicians prioritized restaurants and tattoo parlors over houses of worship.