I have attended Catholic schools my entire life. My relationship with Catholicism is ever-changing. Over the past few years, I noticed that friends and family, including myself, stopped attending church on Sundays, and religion seemed to disappear from their lives. Coincidently, I read Soul Searching by Christian Smith in one of my classes this past year, focusing on American teenagers’ relationships with religion. I realized my observation was a widespread occurrence in the United States. This coincidence led me to focus my research on the decline of faith among American adolescents and young adults.
Instantly my research confirmed my original observation and the work of Christian Smith. A study from 2020 found that thirty-two percent of teenagers (13 to 17) identify as religious “nones”, whereas only twenty-four percent of parents identify as such (1). A second poll shows that thirty-six percent of young adults (18 to 29) identify as “nones”, whereas only twenty-five percent of the previous generation identified like them (2). The term “nones” derives from “none of the above” and refers to those not identifying with any religious group. With the data so far pointing towards a decline, I broke the ways to measure the decline into two categories: belief and behavior. Belief is data on religious affiliation, and behavior is data focused on how religion is practiced and prevalent in youth and young adults. From here, I will examine these different measures of decline, what they mean, and why they are so.
My research aims to identify the leading factors for the decline of religiousness in American youths and young adults. I plan to look at culture, generational change, and education all play into the drop off of religion. From my faith experience and education, I want to include a case study looking at one sect of religion, Catholicism. The decline of Catholics is drastic, even with declining trends across the board. I am curious how an institution with many schools and previously strong membership is dropping quickly. With my curiosity for the topic stemming from my Catholic background, I think including it as a case study will be beneficial.
Author: Liam Adamczyk
(1) Pew Research: Religious Affiliation Among American Adolescents (2020)