Concern for religion’s future in America grows as young women stop attending church

There is growing concern for the future of the church as one group in particular, which used to “do the majority of the work”, is leaving in droves.

Women are leaving churches in droves after previously being the dominant group that filled them, according to a report.

“Women are less inclined to be involved with churches that don’t want us speaking up, that don’t want us to be smart,” Mojica Rodríguez, the daughter of a pastor who was raised attending church frequently, told AOL.com.

Ms Rodriguez, 39, earned a master’s degree in divinity. The Nashville-based author eventually left the church due to its views on women.

“We’re like the mules of the church – that’s what it feels like,” she said.

Several studies point to the decline of church attendance and disaffiliation with religion.

The church’s views of women are of concern to Gen Z, far more than previous generations, as religious institutions maintain the belief that women can’t serve in leadership roles in the church, the Survey Center on American Life reported.

Young women are leading the exodus from the church. Picture: iStock

According to AOL.com: “As with Mojica Rodríguez, some fume over gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others, they say, struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ rights.”

The American Enterprise Institute reported in April women outnumber men among young adults leaving the religion across four generations. Especially among Gen Z women, 54 per cent of Gen Z adults who left their religion were women compared to 46 per cent of men.

The number of Americans identifying as Christian has dropped significantly over the past 30 years, data has shown. According to the Pew Research Center, 63 per cent of Americans identified as Christian in 2020, a decline from 90 per cent of Americans identifying as Christian since the ‘90s.

Furthermore, a Gallup poll released this year showed only “three in 10” US adults attend church once a week or almost once a week. This represents a significant decline from attendance 20 years ago, when 42 per cent of US adults would still attend church regularly.

Easter Sunday Mass at St Mary’s Church in Sydney. Picture: Jeremy Piper

The drop-off doubled in the last decade, where regular church attendance, which was at around 38 per cent per cent between 2011 and 2013, plummeted to 30 per cent.

Gallup noted this decline is represented not just among Christian denominations, but in nearly all faiths in the United States.

As women leave the church, it could pose harsh consequences for the church since they are the largest demographic filling the pews, former evangelist Sheila Wray Gregoire said. She said women tend to flock to volunteer opportunities and involve their families in church as well.

Ms Gregoire told AOL.com the church wouldn’t survive without women. Having studied Christian marriage in the US and Canada for 17 years, she explained further that women are “the ones responsible for getting children out of bed and going to church”.

“Women do the majority of the work that keeps the church going,” Ms Gregoire said.

They feel their ‘voice doesn’t matter’ in the church. Picture: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP

“They’re the ones staffing the Sunday school, making sure potlucks happen or that people are supported when they have an illness or are having a baby. The church is not going to survive without women.”

Daniel A. Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, pointed to “cultural dissonance” with young women as drivers of leaving the church.

“There’s a cultural dissonance with young women being told you can do anything and then being told, well, generally, yes, but when it comes to our place of worship there’s restrictions,” Mr Cox said.

“That’s another challenge that these places are wrestling with.”

As women leave the church, researchers are citing women prioritising career goals and delaying marriage and parenthood, AOL.com reported.

“Why would you want to be at a place where your voice doesn’t matter?” Ms Gregoire said.

“It’s hard when you grow up with a deep, personal faith and then the church you’re in treats you as less than. It’s like having the rug pulled out from under you.”

Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission