Atheism Doubles Among Generation Z

[NeoGreen]

https://www.barna.com/research/atheism-doubles-among-generation-z/

Atheism Doubles Among Generation Z

It may come as no surprise that the influence of Christianity in the United States is waning. Rates of church attendance, religious affiliation, belief in God, prayer and Bible-reading have been dropping for decades. Americans’ beliefs are becoming more post-Christian and, concurrently, religious identity is changing.

Enter Generation Z: Born between 1999 and 2015, they are the first truly “post-Christian” generation. More than any other generation before them, Gen Z does not assert a religious identity. They might be drawn to things spiritual, but with a vastly different starting point from previous generations, many of whom received a basic education on the Bible and Christianity. And it shows: The percentage of Gen Z that identifies as atheist is double that of the U.S. adult population. To examine the culture, beliefs and motivations shaping this next generation, Barna conducted a major study in partnership with Impact 360 Institute, now available in the brand new Gen Z report. In this release, we take a look at their views on faith, truth and the church in a time of growing religious apathy.

Atheism on the Rise
For Gen Z, “atheist” is no longer a dirty word: The percentage of teens who identify as such is double that of the general population (13% vs. 6% of all adults). The proportion that identifies as Christian likewise drops from generation to generation. Three out of four Boomers are Protestant or Catholic Christians (75%), while just three in five 13- to 18-year-olds say they are some kind of Christian (59%).

[Squinch]

1. Meh. They're 13 to 18. They don't know what they are yet.

[John Fante]

2. Religious indoctrination begins way earlier than that.

If the church isn't getting to them now, they likely never will.

[Squinch]

5. Were your religious beliefs settled when you were 13?

[Major Nikon]

10. I have never in my life had belief in a deity

Such things are never truly settled, but I’m closer to the end than the beginning so I’d have to say the probability is remote.

[Runningdawg]

3. Would you say the same if we were talking about sexual orientation?

I was raised in a fundy cult. I knew by age 6 that was BS and not until around age 15 that I was bisexual.

[Squinch]

4. But we aren't talking about sexual orientation. Sexual orientation and religion

are two different things.

[Mariana]

6. I wonder if there are any earlier surveys

of the same age group. If there's a difference between the 13 to 18 year olds of today and, say, the 13 to 18 year olds of 10 or 15 years ago. I'd consider that to be significant.

[Squinch]

7. I still say it would be strange to have settled religious beliefs while a young

teenager.

[Mariana]

8. You're probably right.

I suspect what we're seeing is that, among the young people at least, the word "atheist" is losing some of the negative connotation that has been associated with it.

[Squinch]

9. Yes. Which makes me think they will be a more interesting generation than my own.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. 13 is a typical age for confirmation or similar ceremonies for "full membership" of a denomination

Churches reckon they should have them by that stage. Personally, I think I came to my religious conclusions at about 15 or so. And there is a 'none of these' answer they could use; this is the number specifically answering "atheist".

[guillaumeb]

11. So at this rate, religion will disappear when exactly?

[Mariana]

12. Please don't try to hijack the thread. nt.

[Voltaire2]

14. Probably never, but if Western Europe is an example

of where the near future might go, there is hope that religious idiocy could lose its death grip on our society too.

[NeoGreen]

15. Man will never be free until...

...

[edhopper]

16. Probably

when bigotry, racism, jingoism and nationalism also disappear.

[guillaumeb]

21. An excellent reply.

[MineralMan]

17. Not relevant. Nobody has made such a claim.

You have built your question out of straw, which is not a very sturdy material. Why do you continue to inject irrelevancies into other member's posts? It's unseemly.

[trotsky]

18. Your question is inappropriate and disruptive. n/t

[guillaumeb]

22. Are you the decider now?

[trotsky]

25. Looks like many people have already decided. n/t

[billh58]

19. As long as humans continue to

fall for the con labeled as "eternal life," religion will always be a marketable commodity.

[DetlefK]

26. The influence of religion has been receding for centuries.

Just read up on medieval Christianity. They were ultra-conservative compared to today.
A loosening thought towards new ideas started with the Renaissance and Protestantism ~1500.
Atheism entered the sciences, as materialism, ~1800.

The power of religion has slowly been waning for centuries.

Who knows how much will be left of religion in another 500 years?

[Codeine]

20. My daughter is 13 and a confirmed atheist.

My son is 10 and is also atheistic, despite the non-stop effort by his grandfather to convert him to the JW faith.

As to a person not knowing their religious views at that age, I certainly knew I had no truck with the notion of religion or belief at a far, far younger age than that. I could see a religious person perhaps moving to a different school of religious thought, but it seems unlikely to me that a person would embrace a religious belief after rejecting the entire notion of religion.

[Mariana]

24. What do you think happens

if a child is never told, by trusted adults, that there is such a thing as a god, and that this or that particular god is real?

Atheism is an aberration because most children are indoctrinated early in life, and the indoctrination often comes complete with dire threats (e.g. eternal torture) if they dare to question what they've been taught.

I think a child who is spared the usual early religious indoctrination likely will not spontaneously develop a belief in one or more gods, and therefore will be atheist. Do you suppose she would conjure up some new god or gods and start to worship it/them?

[SWBTATTReg]

27. My opinion only, but I think a decision on one's religion is ...

constantly being reevaluated by each person using their own criteria and not anyone else's, as it should be.

This is a good thing, as free will should have the upper hand when one decides if a religion is or is not for them. I'd support them in any decision they make, and better yet, compliment them on using their own mind and decision making process to decide, and not let others do so for them.

[greymattermom]

28. It's nice to have a community and a culture.

What will replace religion for that? Team sports? Pottery lessons? Book clubs? Right now, I'm attending political meet and greet sessions, where I meet fellow Democrats who live in the Atlanta suburbs.