Why do some people remain committed to the religion they were raised in, while others walk away from faith altogether? A new report from the Pew Research Center suggests the answer often lies in childhood experience — specifically, whether religion felt nurturing or harmful during formative years.
Drawing on data from Pew’s 2023–24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study and a nationally representative survey of 8,937 adults conducted in May 2025, researchers found a clear pattern: positive early religious experiences strongly predict lifelong religious affiliation, while negative ones are closely linked to religious disaffiliation or switching later in life.
“The nature of people’s religious experiences as children — whether they were mostly positive or negative — plays a significant role in whether they stay in their childhood religion as adults,” the study’s authors wrote.
A Nation Still Shaped by Childhood Faith
According to the report, 86% of Americans were raised in a religion, and 56% still identify with that same faith today. However, religious change is widespread: 35% of U.S. adults have switched religions, including 20% who now say they have no religion at all. An additional 9% say they were raised without a religion and remain unaffiliated today.
For the purposes of the study, switching between denominations within Protestantism did not count as changing religions.
The divide between those who stay and those who leave is stark. Among Americans who described their childhood religious experience as positive, 84% remained in their childhood faith as adults. In contrast, 69% of those who reported negative childhood religious experiences now identify with no religion.
The Power of Religious Homes
Family environment also plays a major role. Americans raised in what Pew defined as “highly religious” households were far more likely to stay in their faith (82%) than those raised in homes with low levels of religiosity (47%).
Retention rates varied significantly by religious tradition:
- Hindus: 82%
- Muslims: 77%
- Jews: 76%
- Protestants: 70%
- Catholics: 57%
- Latter-day Saints: 54%
- Buddhists: 45%
Interestingly, 73% of those raised with no religion remained unaffiliated as adults.
Faith Decisions Happen Young
Religious identity, the report shows, is often decided early in life. Of those who changed religions, 85% did so before age 30, including 46% who switched as children or teenagers.
Among Americans who were raised religious but now identify as religiously unaffiliated — often called the “nones” — 53% left religion by age 18. About three in ten people who switched religions said the change occurred during their teenage years.
These findings reinforce earlier research suggesting that adolescence and young adulthood are the most formative periods for religious identity.
Why People Stay
For those who remain in their childhood faith, the reasons are largely personal and experiential rather than social or political.
According to the study:
- 64% cited their faith’s beliefs as a key reason for staying
- 61% said their faith meets their spiritual needs
- 51% said their religion gives their life meaning
Only 32% said social or political teachings were important reasons for staying.
Protestants (70%) and Catholics (53%) were more likely than Jews (45%) to say doctrine and beliefs were central to their continued affiliation. Jews, by contrast, were more likely to cite community (57%) and tradition (60%) as reasons for remaining Jewish.
Notably, relatively few Americans said they stayed in their faith out of obligation. Just 33% of Jews, 30% of Catholics, and 24% of Protestants cited religious duty as a major factor.
Why People Leave
For those who left religion entirely, belief — or the loss of it — was central.
Among former believers who now identify with no religion:
- 51% said they stopped believing in their faith’s teachings
- 44% said religion was no longer important to them
- 42% said they gradually drifted away
Other factors also mattered. About 38% expressed dissatisfaction with social or political teachings, 34% cited scandals involving religious leaders, and 29% said they were unhappy with how their religion treats women.
When asked more broadly why they are religiously unaffiliated, respondents frequently said they felt they could live moral lives without religion (78%), questioned religious teachings (64%), or did not need religion to be spiritual (54%). About half said they do not trust religious organizations (50%) or religious leaders (49%).
Despite decades of change, the share of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated has stabilized at around 30% since 2020, according to Pew.
Finding Faith Later in Life
The study also found a small but notable countertrend. About 3% of Americans who were raised without religion now identify with a faith. Their reasons closely mirror those of lifelong believers: embracing the faith’s beliefs (61%), having their spiritual needs met (60%), and finding meaning in life (55%).
Parents, Children, and the Future of Faith
Pew also surveyed parents about their children’s religious practices. Just under half of parents with children under 18 said their kids pray at night (46%), say grace at meals (43%), read religious stories (43%), or attend services at least once a month (43%).
Protestant parents were the most likely to report regular service attendance (61%), while religiously unaffiliated parents were the least likely (7%). Mothers, the study found, are about twice as likely as fathers to say they play the primary role in teaching children about religion.
A Simple but Powerful Conclusion
Taken together, the findings suggest that religion persists not through pressure or obligation, but through meaning, trust, and positive early experiences. As Pew’s data makes clear, faith that nurtures tends to endure — while faith that wounds often does not.
