Generational makeup of America's unchurched adults
Percent of U.S. unchurched adults by generation, 2014 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Gen X-ers (1965-1983) (36%). Lowest: Millennials (born 1984-2002) (15%).
- Gen X-ers (1965-1983): 36%
- Boomers (1946-1964): 33%
- Elders (born in 1945 or earlier): 16%
Source: Barna Group, 10 Facts About America's Churchless · Twenty surveys with more than 23,000 churched and unchurched adults; each had at least 1,000 randomly chosen adults. Article published 2023-08-16.
See all 4 categories, the full chart and more
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Gen X-ers (1965-1983) (36%). Lowest: Millennials (born 1984-2002) (15%). Gen X-ers (1965-1983): 36%. Boomers (1946-1964): 33%. Elders (born in 1945 or earlier): 16%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2014. Source: Barna Group, 10 Facts About America's Churchless (https://www.barna.com/research/10-facts-about-americas-churchless/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Attendance statistics
- Change in congregations' worship attendance over two years Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers' views on the amount of liturgical style in their church Lifeway Research, 2026
- Regular religious service attendance by age group Lifeway Research, 2026
- Racial and ethnic makeup of America's unchurched adults Barna Group, 2014
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.