Millennial Meltdown
Perspective
The Pew Research Center found in a new study that the number of self-identified Christians in America is dropping. The main contributors to the decline are Millennials (described as those who are in their 20s and 30s).
Overall, Pew states that “the percentage of adults (ages 18 and older) who describe themselves as Christians has dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years,” and now rests at 70.6%. At the same time, the percentage of Americans who do not have a religious affiliation has climbed six points, up to 22.8%. This report should push the church to take stock of how we got here and how we can bring Millennials back to God.
As the Millennial generation enters adulthood, its members display much lower levels of religious affiliation.
| Decline by 2014 % |
Religious Affiliation in 2007 % |
Growth by 2014 % |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | -7.8% | 78.4 | |
| Protestant | -4.8% | 51.3 | |
| Evangelical | -0.9% | 26.3 | |
| Mainline | -3.4% | 18.1 | |
| Historically black | 6.9 | no change | |
| Catholic | -3.1% | 23.9 | |
| Orthodox Christian | 0.6 | no change | |
| Mormon | 1.7 | no change | |
| Jehovah’s Witness | 0.7 | no change | |
| Other Christian | 0.3 | no change | |
| Non-Christian Faiths | 4.7 | +1.2% | |
| Jewish | 1.7 | no change | |
| Muslim | 0.4 | +0.5% | |
| Buddhist | 0.7 | no change | |
| Hindu | 0.4 | +0.3% | |
| Other world religions | <0.3 | no change | |
| Other faiths | 1.2 | +0.3% | |
| Unaffiliated | 16.1 | +6.7% | |
| Atheist | 1.6 | +1.5% | |
| Agnostic | 2.4 | +1.6% | |
| Nothing in particular | 12.1 | +3.7% | |
| Don’t Know | -0.2% | 0.8 |
Answers Magazine
October–December 2015
Learn what the Bible really teaches about caring for the environment and read the shocking results of a survey showing what the twentysomethings in your church believe.
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