From the Executive Summary:
Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes in detail the patterns and reasons for change.
The reasons people give for changing their religion – or leaving religion altogether – differ widely depending on the origin and destination of the convert. The group that has grown the most in recent years due to religious change is the unaffiliated population. Two-thirds of former Catholics who have become unaffiliated and half of former Protestants who have become unaffiliated say they left their childhood faith because they stopped believing in its teachings, and roughly four-in-ten say they became unaffiliated because they do not believe in God or the teachings of most religions. Additionally, many people who left a religion to become unaffiliated say they did so in part because they think of religious people as hypocritical or judgmental, because religious organizations focus too much on rules or because religious leaders are too focused on power and money. Far fewer say they became unaffiliated because they believe that modern science proves that religion is just superstition.
My own experience in talking with people who are unaffiliated with a community of faith leads me to believe that many encounter interpretations of Christian doctrine they can no longer own or accept. Where the original sources of the Christian faith–sacred Scripture, lived tradition, human reason–are not allowed to engage in creative dialogue with the insights and sensibilities of the emerging culture of the twenty-first century, there is a huge credibility gap. People will always search for community and moral grounding, but in today’s world, that search must be met with radical welcome and a willingness to grapple creatively with the most difficult questions of life and faith in the world as it is today.
By the way, I’m personally glad that “dissatisfaction with the clergy at congregation” wasn’t number one on the survey!
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I think most young people “leave” their childhood faith, intentionally or unintentionally, when they reach college age. It’s part of the natural order of breaking away from their parents, not to mention conforming to the norms of college life (which rarely includes regular church attendance). They have some nostalgia for the church community of their childhood, and may attend with their parents when visiting home. But other communities and other priorities replace the church in their adult lives. They learn to live without a structured religion, even though they may have great faith and consider themselves spiritual.
The failing comes in how we bring them back in again. Many young adults return to church when they become parents, because the rhythm of church life fits with their notion of good parenting (as it should!). Far fewer return to a traditional church as single adults or as a childless married couple. I remember attending church sporadically as a single adult and then as a newlywed – I was rarely greeted, never invited to anything, and managed to worship in nearly total anonymity for years. While I hungered for spiritual fulfillment, the concept of a church home eluded me. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough, or maybe they didn’t look hard enough for me.
I love the idea of radical welcome. I love thinking that every newcomer leaves Holy Comforter thinking, “Wow, what a friendly bunch of people!” In the face of a stranger, we can see the face of Jesus: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35b)