Social scientists have long found women tend to be more religious than men - but Gen Z may show a shift

"In the past few years, however, survey data in the U.S. has started to tell a different story. Today, there is less empirical evidence that women are more religious than men - a debate I've tracked closely as a quantitative scholar of American religion. Looking at Generation Z, in particular, a number of results have raised some eyebrows, pointing toward other divides throughout the country."

"In 2023, the American Enterprise Institute's Survey Center on American Life found that 39% of Gen Z women say they do not have a religious affiliation, compared to 34% of men from the same generation. The past several waves of data from the Cooperative Election Study, a national survey, have found that men born after 1990 - a mix of younger millennials and Gen Z - are slightly more likely to attend religious services weekly than women of the same age."

For decades, women have been consistently more religious than men across countries and measures such as prayer frequency and importance of faith. Social scientists have proposed explanations including greater female risk aversion and religion providing support for social responsibilities like birth, death, and childrearing. Recent U.S. survey data show the gender gap shrinking, particularly among younger cohorts. Some 2023 and Cooperative Election Study findings indicate higher religious unaffiliation among Gen Z women and slightly higher weekly attendance among younger men. Other respected polls continue to show women attending worship more frequently, resulting in mixed evidence.

Read at The Conversation