How young adults who stayed or left describe their young adult church
Percent of young adults who stayed in church vs. those who dropped out, 2021 (in percent)
Key finding
- Welcoming: 65%
- Inspirational: 43%
- Disapproving of life choices: 23%
Source: Lifeway Research, 10 Characteristics of Churches That Keep Young Adults · Article published 2021-02-24.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Welcoming: 65%. Inspirational: 43%. Disapproving of life choices: 23%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2021. Source: Lifeway Research, 10 Characteristics of Churches That Keep Young Adults (https://research.lifeway.com/2021/02/24/10-characteristics-of-churches-that-keep-young-adults/).
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More Next Generation statistics
- Childhood faith experiences of those who stayed Protestant vs. left Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers who say their church is multigenerational Lifeway Research, 2026
- Pastors who say engagement among men ages 18 to 35 has increased Barna Group, 2026
- Church dropouts who say leaving was not an intentional decision Lifeway Research, 2022
- Churchgoing teenagers who drop out for at least a year between ages 18 and 22 Lifeway Research, 2022
- Churchgoing teenagers who stopped attending for at least a year as young adults Lifeway Research, 2022
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.