New Gallup polling data reveals that young men are now more religiously engaged than young women in the same age group, reversing a decades-long pattern. As detailed by Gallup, the survey gathered data from telephone interviews conducted between 2024 and 2025, finding that 42 percent of adult men aged 18 to 29 said religion is “very important” in their lives. That compares to just 29 percent of women in the same age bracket.
The numbers for young men represent a 14-point increase from Gallup’s 2022-2023 findings, when only 28 percent said religion was very important. Young women, by contrast, have held relatively steady at around 30 percent during the same period. This marks a clear reversal: Gallup data from 2022-2023 showed 32 percent of women aged 18 to 29 calling religion very important, compared to 28 percent of men.
Looking back further, the gap was even wider in the other direction. At the turn of the millennium, young women led young men by nine percentage points (52 percent versus 43 percent) in calling religion very important, with that gap widening to as much as 16 points in the early to mid-2000s. It narrowed steadily through the following decade before the current data produced a definitive reversal.
Young women are now the least religious group by a wide margin
This shift is unique to the 18 to 29 age group. Among adults aged 30 and older, women still generally remain more religious than men. Young men’s current religiosity, at 42 percent, is now comparable to men aged 30 to 49 and only slightly lower than senior men.
Young women, however, are now by far the least religious among women of any age. With only 29 percent calling religion very important, women aged 18 to 29 trail the next-least religious group, 30- to 49-year-old women, by 18 points and are less than half as likely as senior women to say religion is very important. Amid broader Republican infighting over religion and values, the divergence among young women from all other age and gender groups is becoming increasingly pronounced.
In terms of religious identity, 63 percent of young men reported a specific religious affiliation in 2024-2025, statistically unchanged from 61 percent in 2022-2023, though up from a low of 57 percent in 2016-2017 and the highest recorded for this group since 2012-2013. The proportion of young women with a religious identity has fallen six points to 60 percent, meaning young men have held a slight edge in affiliation since 2020-2021.
On attendance, the percentage of young men reporting monthly or more frequent attendance at religious services rose seven points between 2022-2023 and 2024-2025, reaching 40 percent, its highest level since 2012-2013. Young women’s attendance rose three points to 39 percent over the same period, leaving both groups statistically tied. Young men are now close to older men in attendance, with only a four-point gap, while young women show a much larger 12-point gap compared to older women.
The analysis points to political dynamics as a likely driver. Growth in religiosity appears concentrated among young Republicans. Since 2022-2023, attendance rose seven points among young Republican men, eight points among young Republican women, and three points among young Democratic men. Only young Democratic women showed little change.
In 2024-2025, 48 percent of young men identified as or leaned Republican, compared to 41 percent who leaned Democratic. Among young women, only 27 percent leaned Republican while 60 percent leaned Democratic. Because a relatively large proportion of young men are Republican, upward trends in their religiosity have a significant effect on overall numbers, while the same increase among young Republican women has a more limited impact given their smaller share of all young women.
This political-religious connection extends to the top of the party. A Pew Research Center poll released before the 2024 election found that 82 percent of white evangelical voters supported Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris, and 61 percent of white Catholics did the same. On the other side, 86 percent of Black Protestants and 65 percent of Hispanic Catholics backed Harris, as did 65 percent of Jewish voters. A Pew poll released Thursday found that two-thirds of white evangelicals say Trump defends people with religious beliefs similar to theirs.
Trump recently drew backlash from Christians across the political spectrum after posting an AI-generated image on Truth Social that appeared to depict him as Jesus. Trump later removed the post, claiming he believed it showed him as a doctor. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Trump on X, writing that he “knows what he is doing” and “never apologized.” Trump has since continued posting similar content, including a repost of an AI-created photo depicting him being embraced by Jesus, accompanied by the caption, “The Radical Left Lunatics might not like this, but I think it is quite nice!!!”
Some Republican strategists have raised concerns that these posts could distract from key issues like affordability ahead of the midterms. Trump’s former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney stated that the post will not help Republican turnout, saying, “The midterms are all about turnout. Republicans need Trump voters to show up in November. I’m not sure any Republicans think the ‘Jesus/doctor’ post thing encourages people to get to vote GOP.” The concern echoes wider anxiety about Trump’s political messaging ahead of upcoming elections.
The new Gallup poll surveyed 145 U.S. women and 295 men between the ages of 18 and 29 from 2024 to 2025, with a margin of error for this age group ranging from approximately 7 to 10 percentage points.
Published: Apr 16, 2026 05:30 pm