Young men in the United States have overtaken young women when it comes to the importance of religion in their lives, according to the latest Gallup data. The survey, covering 2024-25, found that 42% of men aged 18 to 29 describe religion as very important to them, up from 28% in 2022-23. In contrast, young women’s responses have remained largely unchanged at around 30% over the same period.
This shift marks a reversal of earlier trends when young men and women were essentially tied on this measure. The increase among younger men has brought their levels of religiosity back to those seen about 25 years ago, nearly matching the 43% recorded in 2000-01. Meanwhile, women across all age brackets and older men are at or near their lowest recorded levels.
The pattern is confined to the 18–29 age group. Among those aged 30 and older, women still report higher religiosity than men. Young women aged 18–29 now rank as the least religious female group overall, with only 29% saying religion is very important – 18 points lower than women aged 30–49 and less than half the rate among senior women.
Religious attendance has also risen among young men. The share attending services at least monthly increased by seven percentage points between 2022-23 and 2024-25, reaching 40% – the highest level since 2012-13. Among young women, attendance edged up three points to 39%, but remains well below early 2000s peaks. Attendance among older men and women is at or near historic lows.
By political affiliation, attendance has risen since 2022-23 among young Republican men (seven points), young Republican women (eight points), and young Democratic men (three points). Young Democratic women are the only group showing little change. Over a longer timeframe, attendance among young Republican men has generally increased since 2018-19, while declining among young Democratic men.
One possible factor behind the growing interest in religion among young men is rising loneliness, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Studies indicate that two-thirds of US men aged 18–23 feel that nobody truly knows them, and 69% feel that “no one cares if men are OK”.
