A Shift in Religious Attitudes Among Young Adults
Recent Gallup survey data indicates a shift in religious attitudes among young adults in the United States, with men aged 18-29 now reporting a higher level of religious importance than women of the same age. This change reverses a historical pattern and is specific to this age group.
Key Findings from 2024-2025 Data
- Religious Importance: 42% of U.S. men aged 18-29 say religion is "very important" in their lives, an increase from 28% in the 2022-2023 survey period. Among young women, 30% reported religion as very important, a figure that remained steady.
- Religious Attendance: 40% of young men reported attending religious services monthly or more frequently, up from 33% in 2022-2023. Attendance among young women rose to 39%, up from 36%. The two groups are now statistically tied on this measure.
- Religious Affiliation: 63% of young men reported a specific religious affiliation, compared to 60% of young women. Young men have held a slight edge in affiliation since 2020-2021.
Historical Context and Age Group Comparisons
The current data marks a reversal from trends at the start of the millennium. In 2000-2001, 52% of young women and 43% of young men said religion was very important.
That gap widened to as much as 16 percentage points in the mid-2000s before narrowing over the following decade. The increase returns young men's reported religious importance to a level similar to their 2000-2001 figure of 43%. In contrast, women of all age groups and older men are at or near their historical lows on this measure.
This shift is unique to adults aged 18-29. Among adults aged 30 and older, women remain more likely than men to report religion as very important. Young women aged 18-29 are now the least religious female demographic, with 29% saying religion is very important.
Analysis by Political Party Identification
Gallup's analysis of religious attendance by political affiliation shows differences in trends. The analysis included independents who lean toward a party with that party's identifiers.
- Since 2022-2023, attendance rose 7 points among young Republican men, 8 points among young Republican women, and 3 points among young Democratic men.
- Young Democratic women showed little change in attendance.
- Longer-term trends show attendance among young Republican men has been increasing since 2018-2019, while young Democratic men's attendance has generally declined.
In the 2024-2025 period, 48% of young men identified as or leaned Republican, while 41% identified as or leaned Democratic. Among young women, 27% identified as or leaned Republican, while 60% identified as or leaned Democratic.
Gallup notes that because a larger proportion of young men are Republican, upward trends in religiosity among young Republicans have a greater impact on the overall trends for young men.
Methodology and Broader Context
The findings are based on biennial aggregates of Gallup's religion data from 2000-2001 through 2024-2025. Gallup's monthly measurement of religious attendance in 2026 indicates 40% of young men continue to attend about weekly or monthly, consistent with the 2025 data.
The report states that overall U.S. religiosity, as measured by importance, attendance, and identity, remains at or near low levels in Gallup's long-term trends, with young men representing an exception to this pattern.