Is religion dying? Why Young Women Are Becoming Less Religious – Deseret News

Gen Z women are increasingly leaving behind the religious groups they were raised in, marking a departure from past trends, according to USA Today.

In previous generations, American women were on average more religious than American men, the article said.

The USA Today report was based on research from the Survey Center on American Life, which tracked the lives of members of Generation Z.

Research has shown that evolving attitudes about sociopolitical issues are fueling the new trend.

Religion and Generation Z

In the past, women were less likely than men to leave the faith group in which they were raised.

“In the Baby Boom generation, 57 percent of people who disaffiliated were men, while only 43 percent were women,” the Survey Center on American Life reported.

As members of Generation Z entered adulthood, a new pattern emerged.

“Fifty-four percent of Gen Z adults who have left their formative religion are women; 46% are men,” the survey found.

The reasons young women give for leaving organized religion are varied, but a few stand out, according to the survey report.

“For most of the young women who leave, it’s no big deal. … Rather it was a steady accumulation of negative experiences and dissonant teachings that made it difficult or impossible to stay,” the report said.

Some are frustrated with their religious group’s approach to LGBTQ, gender and reproductive rights, according to USA Today.

Overall, young women are increasingly liberal and have become suspicious of institutions that support conservative ideals, the survey report said.

“Women are less inclined to get involved in churches that don’t want us to talk, that don’t want us to be smart,” said Mojica Rodríguez, 39, who is an activist and author with a divinity school degree.

The Rise of the “None”

Gen Z, in general, is less religious than any previous generation in American history.

Many young people, as well as a significant portion of their older peers, do not identify with a faith group and are described by researchers as “not” religious.

Although the growth of the “non-religious” in America has leveled off, according to an article in the Deseret News, the size of today’s “none” population is much larger today than it was in the late 20th century.

If women, who have traditionally occupied most of the pew space, continue to walk away from church in greater numbers than men, it spells danger for the health of congregations across the country, according to Christianity Today.

“Evangelical women have long attended church at a higher percentage than evangelical men. But today that gap is shrinking, not because more men are coming, but because more women are leaving. Such women are increasingly likely to “deconstruct” their faith or identify as “neither,” according to a Christianity Today review of a book about single evangelical women who leave their churches.