In a reversal of a decades-long trend, the numbers of churchgoing Millennials and Gen Zers are outpacing those of older adults, new data show.
Based on data gathered between January and July, Barna Group found that young adults have become more likely than their older counterparts to attend church at least monthly. Gen Z churchgoers have an average church attendance of 1.9 weekends per month, and Millennials are averaging 1.8 times.
Gen X and Baby Boomers, traditionally more religious demographics, have respective averages of 1.6 and 1.4. Older generations, which Barna termed “Elders,” had an average of 1.4. Overall, U.S. adults who go to religious services average 1.6 weekends per month.
According to Barna, “These are easily the highest rates of church attendance among young Christians since they first hit Barna’s tracking.” The group’s vice president of research, Daniel Copeland, added that the “data represents good news for church leaders and adds to the picture that spiritual renewal is shaping Gen Z and Millennials today.”
Barna discovered that Baby Boomers and Elders’ church attendance has steadily declined across the past 25 years, while Gen X’s attendance has remained stable. By contrast, younger generations’ average attendance nearly doubled in just five years. The data also show that Gen X, Baby Boomers, and Elders are just as likely to attend church now as they were immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas younger generations seem to have been more likely to turn to religion in the post-pandemic years.
Barna CEO David Kinnaman said, “The significant drop-off among older generations shows that the fabric of congregational life is changing. It’s more frayed and less gray than it was a decade ago.”
He added, “The influx of new generations represents a massive opportunity for congregational leaders, but this renewed interest must be stewarded well.”
According to Juicy Ecumenism, Barna also found that men are now more likely than women to attend church, another trend reversal. The data show that 45% of U.S. men attend church weekly, compared with 36% of women.
The outlet reported that sociologists are still hypothesizing about the shift in men and women’s church attendance.
“Perhaps the pandemic disrupted women’s congregational ties more deeply, or perhaps men found in church a renewed sense of stability and belonging during cultural upheaval,” the outlet continued. “Whatever the explanation, the reversal is striking because the old assumption that ‘women are the religious ones’ no longer holds.”
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