Barna Survey: 40% Of Gen Z Women Identify as Atheist or Agnostic. Teen Boys Most Spiritually Active
Among young adults, women are now the most likely to disengage from church, prayer, and belief, according to a new Barna survey, which found that 38% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 identify as religiously unaffiliated, being either atheist, agnostic, or claiming no faith at all.
It’s a striking statistic, given that women are the predominant demographic in the church, and have historically been seen as most interested in religious adherence. In comparison, only 32% of men of the same age claim to be religiously unaffiliated, a full 6% fewer. Barna notes that these results hold true with even younger age groups:
Even among teens (ages 13–17), the pattern holds: 28 percent of teen girls consider themselves religiously unaffiliated, versus 22 percent of teen boys.
It’s a clear sign that the landscape is changing—challenging longheld assumptions about who is the most likely to distance themselves from religion.
Across every measured spiritual practice, young adult women currently show the lowest levels of engagemen, and in fact are distancing themselves from the practices that sustain it:
“Prayer: 58 percent of women 18–24 report having prayed within the past week, compared to 63 percent of younger teen girls and over 70 percent of teen boys.
Bible Reading: Just 31 percent of young adult women note having read the Bible in the last week, compared to 37 to 41 percent across all other Gen Z groups (young women ages 13–17 and all Gen Z men).
Church Attendance: Only 30 percent say they attended a worship service in the last seven days—the lowest of any demographic group surveyed”
This tracks with a survey from Barna earlier this month, that found women’s church attendance is on the decline and that men are far outpacing them.
