Americans who leave their childhood religion typically do so by age 30, with just under half saying they stopped believing their former religion’s teachings. Source: OSV News.
For Catholics, retention rates tend to be significantly lower than for other faiths, while former Catholics cite varying reasons for leaving the Church, depending upon their current religious affiliation – or lack thereof.
And on balance, having positive childhood experiences of religion and growing up with regular religious practices both play a significant role in adult retention of childhood religious identity.
Those were among the findings released on Monday by Pew Research Centre in a report titled Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?.
Pew drew on data from a May 5-11 survey of 8937 US adults who are part of the centre’s American Trends Panel and from the centre’s 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study, representing 36,908 US adults.
Overall, slightly more than half (56 per cent) of US adults still identify with their childhood religion, with 35 per cent reporting they have “moved on from the religion of their youth,” Pew reported.
Another 9 per cent “weren’t raised in a religion and still don’t have one today.”
Pew found that retention rates for Catholics (57 per cent) – who comprise 19 per cent of US adults – were much lower than those for Hindus (82 per cent), Muslims (77 per cent), Jews (76 per cent) and Protestants (70 per cent), although somewhat higher than for Latter-day Saints (54 per cent) and Buddhists (45 per cent).
In addition, Pew reported, “14 per cent of Americans raised Catholic are now Protestant,” representing 4 per cent of all US adults and 13 per cent of US adults are former Catholics.
Broadly, the top reason cited for leaving a childhood religion was no longer believing in the religion’s teachings – with 46 per cent of former Catholics pointing to that loss of belief for their decision to leave the faith.
Other reasons given by former Catholics for walking away were clergy and religious leader scandals (39 per cent) and dissatisfaction with Church teachings on social and political issues (37 per cent).
Another 35 per cent of former Catholics pointed to a gradual drifting away from their religion – slightly less than the report’s overall share of 38 per cent.
FULL STORY
Pew report reveals why some Americans, including Catholics, leave their childhood faith (By Gina Christian, OSV News)
