A new report on young adults who no longer identify as Catho-lic is attempting to understand why so many have “disaffiliated” from the faith they were born into. It comes at a time when more young people than ever before are leaving the church, even as those losses are being off set by His panic immigration to the U.S.
We looked at a sample of former Catholics, aged 15 to 25. This group is often characterized as “nones” because they claim no particular religious affiliation. The “Going, Going, Gone” rep-ort notes 2015 Pew research on all Americans that puts the number of disaffiliated young millennials (ages 18-24) at 36% and disaffiliated older millennials (25-33) at 34%. Approximately 12.8% of young adults in the U.S between 18 and 25 are former Catholics.
• Approximately 6.8%of U.S teenagers between 15 and 17 are former Catholics.
• 74% said they stopped identifying as Catholic between ages 10 and 20, with a median age of 13.
• About one-third (35%) are “done” with religious affiliation but still believe in something bigger, perhaps even God.
