According to a survey conducted in 2023, Millennials were most likely to say that religion was not important to their lives in the United States, with ** percent sharing this belief. ** percent of Gen Z adults and ** percent of Gen Z teens also agreed that religion was not important to them in 2023.

Among the people surveyed in 26 countries around the world, a slight majority of the baby boomer generation were Christians. By comparison, only 42 percent of Generation Z stated that they were Christians. Millennials was the generation with the highest share of people stating that they had a religious belief other than Islam and Christianity.

As of 2021, Generation Z was the most likely generation to have lacked a religious upbringing in the United States, with 15% of Gen Z reporting that they were never religious. The Silent Generation was most likely to have a religious upbringing, with 72 percent reporting that they still remained in the same religion.

As of 2021, Generation Z was the least likely generation to have participated in any religious services while growing up, followed by Millennials. The Silent Generation was the most likely generation to have participated in religious services, with ** percent reporting that they attended Sunday school or another religious education program while growing up.

In 2021, almost 40 percent of Generation Z, or those aged 10 to 24 years at the time, were affiliated with Christianity in Australia. The largest share of Gen Z were not affiliated with any religion that year.

Belief in God has historically been a persistent aspect of American society, with ** percent of surveyed Americans saying that they believed in God in 1944. However, the share of Americans who believed in God has decreased steadily over time after reaching a peak of ** percent in the ***** and ***. As of 2022, the share of Americans who believed in God had fallen to ** percent. Religious participation and practice There has been a significant reduction in participation within religious organizations in the United States, with Americans found less likely to attend church or become members of a church. While ** percent of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple in 1999, this number dropped to 47 percent by 2021. This decline in church membership may have contributed to Americans’ waning belief in God, as continuous religious practice has been attributed to greater faith and religious conviction. ** percent of Americans who attended religious services weekly believed that God hears prayers and intervenes, in comparison to 28 percent of Americans who seldom or never attended religious services. Younger Americans less likely to believe While most U.S. adults still believe in God, younger Americans are less likely to share this belief. Older generations of Americans were more likely to participate in religious services while growing up, with ** percent of the Silent Generation reporting that they attended Sunday school or another religious education program, while Generation Z were more likely to have lacked any sort of religious upbringing in the United States. In 2021, 15 percent of Gen Z said that they had never been religious.

In 2022, ** percent of surveyed Generation Z said that protecting access to clean water and fresh air was important to the kind of America in which they want to live, followed by ** percent who advocated for the importance of reducing gun violence and mass shootings in America. A Gen Z perspective These findings may reflect the fact that Americans have been experiencing a rise in gun-related violence, mass shootings, and climate change concerns in the last few years, at the same time that Gen Z has been aging into adulthood. In addition, Gen Z have had to grow up in midst of political tension following social conflicts such as the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affecting marginalized groups, race-related protests over police brutality, and a ban on abortion recently implemented in many U.S. states, making it unsurprising that the majority of the generation also promoted the importance of preserving individual rights and freedoms, addressing systemic racism, upholding women’s reproductive rights, and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable populations. Generational differences Differing from older generations in the U.S., Gen Z were least likely to identify as Republican, to trust in the government, and to say that they are proud to live in the United States, with only ** percent of Gen Z being proud to live in the U.S. in comparison to ** percent of Baby Boomers. Gen Z were also found less likely to have a religious upbringing or have participated in religious services when they were growing up. In addition, they were found more likely to identify as part of the LGBTQ community.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, Gen Z teens were more likely than other generations to identify as independents in the United States, at 35 percent. A further 27 percent of Gen Z teens identified as Democratic while 22 percent identified as Republicans.

As of 2021, Generation Z was the least likely generation to believe that children should be brought up in religion so that they can learn good values in the United States, with ** percent disagreeing with this notion. In comparison, the Silent Generation was most likely to agree that children should be brought up in religion in the United States, at ** percent.

The graph presents data on the preferred Bible formats among adults in the United States as of February 2019, sorted by generation. The findings show that 27 percent of Millennials and 26 percent of Generation X respondents preferred to read the Bible via a smartphone or tablet app, compared to just nine and two percent of Boomers and Elders. Print was the preferred format overall among adults of all ages, however was less popular among Millennials and Gen-Xers.

The graph presents data on the frequency of using the Bible specifically through an app, audio, podcast or as a result of an internet search among adults in the United States as of January 2019, sorted by generation. The findings show that 23 percent of Millennials and Gen-Xers reported using the Bible in a digital format several times per week, compared to ten percent of Boomers who said the same.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, ** percent of Gen Z adults in the United States said that they have attended a rally or demonstration, compared to ***** percent of Millennials and Gen Xers. Gen Z adults were also the most likely generation to volunteer for a group or a cause, at ** percent.

In a survey of charitable givers in Australia held in January 2020, ** percent of the Builders generation indicated a preference for donating goods as a form of non financial charitable giving. Donating goods was also the most common non financial giving practice of all other generations with Gen Z and Boomers leading the other generations in volunteering.

Despite the average daily time spent reading per capita in the United States decreasing in recent years, the average amount of time spent reading the Bible has remained stable. A survey showed that 23 percent of U.S. adults reported spending one hour of more with the bible in each sitting in 2017, compared to 24 percent four years earlier.

The Bible: consumption in the United States

The frequency of reading the Bible among adults in the U.S. changed very little between 2018 and 2019, however reading habits among survey respondents were at two extremes. Whilst the majority reported never reading the Bible at all, the second largest share of adults said that they read the text every day. Whilst the average time spent with the Bible has only very mildly fluctuated over the last few years, attitudes and consumption habits are changing.

Back in 2011, 67 percent of surveyed U.S. adults said that they wished they used the Bible more, however by 2019 this figure had dropped to 56 percent. In addition to this, digital formats have become more prevalent and have proved more appealing to younger readers than to older generations. Print is still by far the most popular format, however more Millennials and Gen-Xers prefer to read the Bible via a smartphone or tablet app than their older peers, and the frequency of reading online versions of the Bible was also higher among younger generations.

Whilst to older generations using digital versions of religious or sacred texts may seem strange or even a step too far, clearly a demand for such content exists. The Bible app came second in a ranking of the highest rated iOS apps in the United States with over 97 percent positive user reviews – that’s almost ten percent more than Spotify. With consumers all over the world making the move from print to digital, it is possible that digital versions of the Bible will increase in popularity even further, though there will likely always be groups who simply believe such a text should be kept in its traditional format.