While much attention has been paid to the growing political divide among Generation Z women and men, there is also a notable shift with respect to gender and religion. For the past decade, young women have become less religious, defying historical norms, while young men’s religious affiliation and behavior have remained remarkably consistent. This Spotlight Analysis examines shifts in religious identification, religiosity, and participation in religious activities among young men and young women to better understand Gen Zers’ relationship with religion.

Religious Profile of Young Americans

Overall, the proportion of Americans ages 18-29 who identify as religiously unaffiliated has grown over the past decade from 32% in 2013 to 38% in 2024. However, this change is largely driven by young women. In 2024, 40% of women ages 18-29 identified as religiously unaffiliated, which represents an 11-percentage point increase from 29% in 2013. In comparison, the percentage of men ages 18-29 who identify as religiously unaffiliated remained stable (35% in 2013 vs. 36% in 2024). Turning to specific religious denominations or categories of religious affiliation, however, young women and men remain largely set in religious identification patterns over time, aside from identifying as religiously unaffiliated.

Religious Importance Among Young Americans

Examining measures of religiosity, younger women are shifting in their opinions towards religion, too. Today, women ages 18-29 are half as likely as they were in 2013 to report that religion is the most important thing in their lives (12% in 2023 vs. 21% in 2013), while men ages 18-29 have remained consistent (16% in 2013 to 17% in 2023).^[1] Notably, over the past decade, both young men (22% in 2013 to 34% in 2023) and young women (18% in 2013 to 30% in 2023) have grown 12 percentage points more likely to say that religion is not important in their lives.

Religious Practices Among Young Americans

In recent years, young women have also seen a decrease in participation in religious activities. The proportion of women ages 18-29 who attend religious services at least once a week decreased significantly from 29% in 2016 to 19% in 2024, while men ages 18-29 have seen no significant shift (16% in 2016 vs. 18% in 2024).

Both men and women ages 18-29 report a decline in weekly personal prayer outside of religious services. However, this decline is significantly more pronounced among women in this age group,  dropping from a majority (53%) in 2016 to 38% in 2024. In contrast, there is a slight decline among men in this age group over the same timeframe (38% in 2016 vs. 34% in 2024).

Over the past decade, young women have become more likely to identify as religiously unaffiliated. Young women are participating in religious activities less frequently and are reporting a significant decrease in the perceived importance of religion in their daily lives.  Gen Z women are defying long-held historical trends that typically find women are more religious than men. Instead, when it comes to Gen Z, women look more like their male counterparts in their religious behavior.

[1] Significantly different at the 0.10 level.