(RNS) — Americans who had a positive religious experience as kids are most likely to keep the same faith as adults. Those who had negative experiences are most likely to change faiths or give up on religion. And while a majority (56%) of Americans still identify with their childhood faith, a third (35%) have switched — including 20% who now say they have no religion.
Those are among the findings of a new report from Pew Research Center, based on data from Pew’s 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study and a survey of 8,937 American adults conducted between May 5 and May 11.
Researchers asked Americans what religion they’d been raised in as well as their current religion, then asked those who switched or left their childhood faith about why things changed. They also asked Americans who are religious why they remain part of that faith.
Nine percent indicated they weren’t raised in a religion and don’t have one today either.
For this study, released Monday (Dec. 15), changing from one brand of Protestantism to another did not count as switching faiths.
The study found that 86% of Americans were raised in a religion, but those who stayed tended to have a different experience from those who left.
According to Pew research, Americans who were raised in a religion and had a positive experience are …