An autumn survey has revealed that nearly one in four millennials are religiously unaf-filiated, and many of them say they left the church due to teachings on homosexuality.
25% of Americans are religiously unaffili-ated and religious affiliation has been declining noticeably since the 1990s. The numbers of people who have left the church are greater the younger the demographic.
For example, only 13% of those aged over 65 say they are religiously unaffiliated, 17% aged 50 to 64 say the same, 29% in the 30 to 49 age group do not believe in religion, and a sizeable 39% of 18 to 29-year-olds say they are religiously unaffiliated.
Reasons
The survey also explored the reasons for lack of religious affiliation. A major finding was that 39% of religiously unaffiliated mil-lennials said the church’s teaching on and treatment of gays and lesbians was a major factor in their decision to leave the church or to remain unaffiliated with it.
The survey also separated non-churchgoers into three categories:
Rejectionists: those who say religion is not personally important in their lives and believe religion as a whole does more harm than good in society;
Apatheists: who say religion is not personally important to them, but believe it is generally more socially helpful than harmful;
Unattached believers: who say religion is personally important to them, but yet do not attend corporate worship.
