No Youth Revival in the United States: 12% Left Catholicism, 1% Converted
No Mass Conversion Among Young Adults
Contrary to claims often made in neoconservative Catholic publications, young adults are not returning to Christianity in large numbers.
- Young adults (aged 18–30) are significantly less religious than older Americans, a trend that continues today.
- Around 55% of the youngest adult group identified with a religion in 2025, which is almost unchanged from 57% in 2020.
- Only 1% of adults aged 18–24 have converted to Catholicism, while 12% have left it.
- Similarly, only 1% have converted to schismatic Orthodox groups, while a similar proportion have left.
- Overall, 26% of young adults are former Christians, while just 5% have converted to Christianity in any form.
Hispanic Americans Lead U.S. Catholicism
Although religious affiliation has stabilised in recent years, Pew emphasises that this follows decades of decline and does not represent a revival.
Today's young adults are less religious than those in 2007 or 2014, and the apparent levelling off reflects historically low levels of affiliation, not renewed interest in religion.
Pew also notes that the slightly higher religious participation among the youngest adults often reflects continued family influence and tends to fade with age. This pattern has appeared before and does not signal a lasting generational shift.
Likewise, the narrowing gender gap in religion is due to women becoming less religious, not men becoming more so.
While this Pew report does not analyse Catholic affiliation by race or ethnicity, related Pew research consistently demonstrates that Catholicism in the United States is not expanding due to white conversions. Hispanic Americans now constitute the largest Catholic demographic in the country.
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