A study by Pew Research Center shows shifting religious demographics among young men and women. Young women, previously considered “more religious” than young men, are now considered roughly as religious as men in the same age group.
According to the 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study, there is little difference between religious identification of young men and women. Fifty-seven percent of women ages 18 to 24 identify as religious, a statistical trend nearly mirroring that of men in the same age group (58 percent).
While seemingly insignificant, the closing religious gender gap between young men and women reflects changing historical trends. A two-year study by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity revealed women’s historical attitude toward religion, with women reporting higher rates of church attendance, prayer, and identification.
Changing attitudes toward religion are a big factor
The change in this historical tendency seems to be due in part to growing “unaffiliated” religious identification among women. Research conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute expressed changing trends in 2024, where 40 percent of women ages 18 to 29 identified as religiously unaffiliated, representing an 11 percent increase from 2013. The percentage of men in the same age group remained stable (35 percent in 2013 vs. 36 percent in 2024).
These statistics seem to further reflect fluctuating attitudes of women toward churches, particularly those with more conservative views regarding women in church leadership positions.
Growing rates of feminism in the U.S. have contributed to changing cultural attitudes as female congregants focus more on the unequal treatment of women. A recent survey highlighted higher rates of female disaffiliation in churches, with 65 percent of women claiming men and women are not treated equally.
This seeming gender disparity is tied predominantly to Protestant denominations, particularly those that require women to submit to male leadership.
As modern culture continues to push increasing female independence and empowerment, more traditional religious ideas have become difficult for women to reconcile within a transforming cultural background, the study indicates.
In an interview, Faith Brack, a former Southern Baptist, argued: “A lot of women are driven away by patriarchal beliefs. Women see that the church is dominated by men and are told [to] submit to their husband and not worry about helping in the church [in more meaningful ways].”
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Shifting sociopolitical beliefs contribute to this change
A Survey Center on American Life study suggests women are not driven from churches purely due to gender roles. A lot of women have grown increasingly progressive, focusing more on church equality, individual rights, and social justice.
Rates of women identifying as members of the LGBTQ community have also increased, resulting in many American women leaving churches that are not LGBTQ-affirming.
Most American women leaving their faith do not attribute it to a single reason, but rather an accumulation of negative experiences and teachings that do not reflect the beliefs of a growing diverse culture.
Some of these women also cite the inability of many more conservative Protestant churches to adapt to more commonly seen lifestyles and identities as having driven these women out or leaving religion altogether and identifying as atheists.
Women contribute to church community-building
Further research indicates religious American women tend to participate more actively in churches, contributing more time to community building and volunteer efforts.
Women also provide the bulk of church childcare, with mothers playing significant roles in the faith formation of their children, both within and outside of church.
Americans raised in religious households often cite their mothers as having greater influence in leading their religious upbringing than fathers. This trend is especially prominent in interfaith families, in which nearly half (46 percent) of those raised by interfaith parents cite the mother as having a more prominent role in religious upbringing.
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