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A new report has suggested that for working aged people, faith is more a matter of personal choice than of social or family tradition.
The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) conducted a survey of more than 2,000 adults who claimed to have experienced a change in their religious beliefs.
The survey found that 44% of 18 to 34 year olds came to faith out of a desire to have a personal connection with God, while 48% did so because of a wish for moral clarity, meaning or purpose. Forty per cent said they wished to experience personal transformation or healing.
A significant proportion of young people, 27%, said that the benefits faith brings to their mental health were a key part of their belief.
Despite the apparent desire to find moral clarity in religion, many young people said they had failed to find it.
More than half of 18 to 34 year olds said they felt the world was “increasingly unfair” and of these, 70% said this apparent unfairness led them away from their faith. Only 17% of 18 to 34 year olds said their faith helped them make sense of the world’s suffering and injustice.
The research also looked at the reasons why people leave their faith. The most common reason was not believing in God or the supernatural, although other common reasons centred on disagreements over doctrinal, ethical and philosophical questions.
Those aged 18 to 34 were found to be more likely than those 35 and above to leave their faith, typically for the reasons outlined above.
The report’s author, Rania Mohiuddin-Agir, said, “Overall, these findings highlight a generational shift: younger adults are prioritising authenticity and intellectual consistency over community ties.
“When these elements are missing or in conflict with their values, they are far more likely to step away from faith than to maintain belief for the sake of social or familial expectation. This reinforces the broader trend of faith becoming an increasingly individualised and self-directed journey among the 18-34 cohort.”
