Nearly Half of Gen Z Identifies as Non-Religious, New Study Finds

Almost half of Generation Z say that they identify as either non-religious, atheist or agnostic, according to data published by the Cooperative Election Study Monday.

The study revealed the religious differences between five generations — Silent, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z — noting that the largest difference could be found in Gen Z, according to Ryan P. Burge, a professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Gen Z respondents that identified as non-religious increased by 3%, bringing the total to 48% of young Americans born after 1996.

Gen Z was the largest group to indicate no religious affiliation at 31%, with Millennials coming in second at 28%, according to the study. Overall, the number of those who identified as non-religious in all generations did not change from 2021 to 2022.

Additionally, Gen Z only made up 1.5% of the population surveyed in 2014 for the annual study, but as of 2022, they made up almost 15%, according to Burge.

The overall religious composition of religion by generation is relatively unchanged from prior years, as well.

Among Millennials: 44% are nones. 42% are Protestant or Catholic.

Among Gen Z: 48.5% are nones. 35% are Protestant or Catholic.

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— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) April 3, 2023