Most Americans typically do so by age 30, with Catholics showing especially low retention
Catholics gather in East Los Angeles College stadium at the 91st Procession and Mass honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego, in the traditionally Latino community of East Los Angeles, on Dec. 4, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: AFP)
For Catholics, retention rates tend to be significantly lower than for other faiths, while former Catholics cite varying reasons for leaving the church, depending upon their current religious affiliation -- or lack thereof.
And on balance, having positive childhood experiences of religion and growing up with regular religious practices both play a significant role in adult retention of childhood religious identity.
Those were among the findings released Dec. 15 by Pew Research Center in a report titled "Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?"
Pew drew on data from a May 5-11 survey of 8,937 US adults who are part of the center's American Trends Panel and from the center's 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study, representing 36,908 U.S. adults.
Overall, slightly more than half (56%) of US adults still identify with their childhood religion, with 35% reporting they have "moved on from the religion of their youth," said Pew.
Another 9% "weren't raised in a religion and still don't have one today," said the report.
Pew found that retention rates for Catholics (57%) -- who comprise 19% of US adults -- were much lower than those for Hindus (82%), Muslims (77%), Jews (76%) and Protestants (70%), although somewhat higher than for Latter-day Saints (54%) and Buddhists (45%).
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