More than 20% of adults have departed from the religious groups in which they were raised, according to a Pew Research Center study spanning 36 countries.
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Overafifthofadultshaveleftreligiousgroupstheywereraisedin:PewstudyChristianityamongreligionsseeingsharpdeclineByAnugrahKumar,ChristianPostContributorMonday,March31,2025GettyImagesMorethan20%ofadultshavedepartedfromthereligiousgroupsinwhichtheywereraised,accordingtoaPewResearchCenterstudyspanning36countries.Thetrend,called“religiousswitching,”hasresultedinnotabledeclinesforChristianityandBuddhism,whileagrowingnumberofadultsnowidentifyasreligiouslyunaffiliated.
Thephenomenonofreligiousswitching,asdefinedinthereport,involvesindividualschangingtheirreligiousidentitiesbetweenchildhoodandadulthood.Thisincludesdisaffiliationfromreligionentirelyorswitchingtoadifferentmajorreligiousgroup.However,itdoesn’taccountfortransitionswithinthesamereligion,suchasshiftingfromoneChristiandenominationtoanother.
Whilesomecountries,includingIndia,Israel,NigeriaandTh
