Americans in their 20s are less likely to attend church or read the Bible than older Americans, a Barna Research Group study has found.
Thirty-one percent of twenty-somethings attend a worship service in a typical week, compared to 42 percent of those in their 30s and 49 percent of all adults ages 40 and older.
The level of Bible reading also decreases by age group. Researchers found that 30 percent of twenty-somethings read the Bible in the past week, compared to 37 percent of Americans in their 30s, 44 percent of forty-somethings, 47 percent of Americans in their 50s and 55 percent of adults ages 60 and older. Young adults are also less likely to tithe.
Despite the lower percentages in religious practice, researchers found that internal aspects of faith rank higher among those in their 20s.
For instance, 80 percent of twenty-somethings said their faith is very important in their lives; 75 percent said they had prayed to God in the past week; and 57 percent said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life.
“The notion that these people will return to the church when they get older or once they become parents is only true in a minority of cases,” said David Kinnaman, vice president of the Ventura, Calif.- based research firm and director of the study, in a statement.
(RNS)
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