For only the second time this century, the rate of young men in the United States who say religion is very important to their lives is significantly higher than that of young women. This is the result of a massive spike in religious sentiment among men between 2023 and 2025, according to a recent Gallup study.
In Gallup’s 2022-2023 surveys, only 28% of men aged 18-29 said religion was very important in their lives. In the 2024-2025 surveys, which asked the same question, those rates rose to 42%. During the same period, the share of young women who said religion was very important to them fell slightly, from 32% to 29%.
The only other survey where more men than women said religion was very important to them was in 2020 and 2021, with 34% and 29%, respectively.
Regardless of how important they view religion, young people attend religious services at roughly the same rate: 39% of women and 40% of men ages 18-29 attend at least once a month.
In the latest data, young people (age 18-29) occupy the only age bracket with more men than women who say religion is very important to them. For the 30-49 and 50-64 age brackets, women are 5% more likely than men to place a high importance on religion. For adults over the age of 65, the gap between women (64%) and men (50%) widens to 14 percentage points.
The latest Gallup study was released amid surging interest in data surrounding the religious commitments of young people in the U.S. and Great Britain. In early 2025, the UK’s Bible Society released a report claiming a “quiet revival” was occurring among young people in that country. That report recently came under scrutiny for false or misleading data.
In the U.S., as President Trump ramps up social media attacks against Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church in America is reporting a rise in conversions among young people.
More information on the recent Gallup study, including links to the survey’s methodology and topline results, is available here.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.