Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.
Echo Boomers appear less religious than former generations, according to a study [Update: dead link removed] on religion and Echo Boomers. There are a couple of built-in assumptions in this study, such as a lack in religious views would be reflected in (1) no religious affiliation, (2) less church attendance, and (3) religion is not as important in life when compared to former U.S. generations.
Obviously, those three assumptions may not reflect religious views in an accurate manner, but it would seem, for now, that Echo Boomers are not as religious as former U.S. generations. Some data points:
25% of Echo Boomers are unaffiliated with any specific religion.
33% of 18-29 year olds attend a religious service at least weekly.
48% of 18-29 year olds pray daily.
45% of 18-29 year olds see religion as important.
64% of 18-29 year olds are absolutely certain there is a higher power.
55% of 18-29 year olds accept evolution as an "explanation for human life" (this is Pew's definition, not mine). This final view does not indicate a lack of religion among Echo Boomers as evolution and religion are not mutually exclusive.
Keep in mind, that when I refer to Echo Boomers, I am referring to those between 18-31, so this study from Pew does not cover all the Echo Boomers I am referencing in my study. It does show some patterns we should expect overall from Echo Boomers.
Historic Themes
The pattern of a religious society shifting to a non-religious society has happened throughout human history. When speaking with thought leaders, I note that I use trends like this to compare with what we've seen in history. For example, feudal Russia was extremely religious. However, when it collapsed and became the Soviet Union, it became very non-religious. In fact, Soviet citizens would have said early in the history of the Soviet Union that religion in Russia's past helped legitimize the feudal authority. Let's ignore the obvious irony of religion not being needed to legitimize Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, or the stagnant Soviet bureaucracy before its collapse.
But societies that shift from religious to non-religious can see other shifts in sociocultural phenomena that may not seem related initially. This is one reason that this is a useful data point to collect. In a similar manner, a secular shift could simply be a pendulum reaction (like the Baby Boomers during the hippie "love and peace" era) that passes at the generation ages. In this instance, the generation may swing to the opposite extreme as they age, which could bring other trends.
