Teens who share the faith tradition of their parents
Percent of U.S. teenagers whose parents are in each tradition, 2021 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Unaffiliated parents (86%). Lowest: Mainline parents (55%).
- Unaffiliated parents: 86%
- Catholic parents: 81%
- Evangelical parents: 80%
Source: Lifeway Research, Are Evangelical Parents Raising Evangelical Teens? · Article published 2021-06-04.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Unaffiliated parents (86%). Lowest: Mainline parents (55%). Unaffiliated parents: 86%. Catholic parents: 81%. Evangelical parents: 80%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2021. Source: Lifeway Research, Are Evangelical Parents Raising Evangelical Teens? (https://research.lifeway.com/2021/06/04/are-evangelical-parents-raising-evangelical-teens/).
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- 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.