For decades, it was an accepted fact: if a church had anyone filling its pews, volunteering in the nursery or organizing the meal train, it was women. Not just any women—single women, young mothers, college-aged women trying to find their way. They were the backbone of the modern church. But according to new research from Barna Group, that backbone is slipping away. And for the first time in recorded history, young women are less religious than young men.
Yes, you read that right. The latest data on Gen Z faith trends found that 39 percent of Gen Z women now identify as religiously unaffiliated, compared to 31 percent of Gen Z men. This marks a dramatic reversal from previous generations, where women were significantly more likely to be engaged in church and faith communities than their male counterparts. In an era where church attendance is dropping across the board, the trendline is breaking in an unexpected way. Foruthermore, since 2022, men have consistently shown higher weekly attendance rates than women, reversing a long-established pattern (30% of men vs. 27% of women attending weekly as of 2024).
Barna research shows that Gen Z women—once the demographic most likely to participate in church life—are now leaving at higher rates than their male peers. And while men are becoming slightly more engaged than they were a decade ago, young women are disengaging en masse. From 2000 to 2015, women attended church at higher rates than men, then from 2016 to 2021, men and women attended at about the same rate. Over the last three years, however, we’ve seen women consistently attend church less frequently than men. Preliminary 2025 data maintains this new trend, with 28 percent of women attending weekly versus 40 percent of men.
So, what happened?
David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group, has been tracking faith trends for years but even he was surprised by the shift.
“It really started to ping for us that it’s the women, not the men, who are disengaging from religion generally and from the church in particular,” Kinnaman said.
The data shows that there isn’t one simple reason for the shift, or even two. Instead, a myriad of factors have led to the disengagement of faith in women.
For instance, gender roles in and out of the church have shifted significantly, leaving a rise of young unmarried women feeling left out of traditional church structures. A strong focus on raising young men to be leaders has left many women feeling voiceless in faith spaces, unsure of where they fit within the larger mission of the church.
At the same time, a reckoning with the purity culture movement has led many women to reexamine their relationship with faith, the church and even themselves. The overemphasis on sexual purity left many women so focused on their physical lives that their spiritual lives were neglected. For years, messages around worth and holiness were tied almost exclusively to modesty and abstinence, rather than discipleship and spiritual formation. Now, many young women are questioning whether the church ever truly invested in their faith—or simply in their ability to follow a set of restrictive rules.
While the reasons for this shift are complex, one of the clearest signals has to do with changing relationship dynamics. Traditionally, the church served as a de facto dating pool. Christian women looking for a husband knew that church was one of the best places to find a partner who shared their values. But increasingly, young women aren’t looking for that anymore—or, if they are, they’re finding fewer options.
“We’re starting to hear some evidence that young women don’t see the church as a place where they’re interested in finding a partner,” Kinnaman said. “They don’t feel like they need a mate to live a life of meaning.”
This aligns with broader cultural trends—women are marrying later if at all and they’re increasingly skeptical of the idea that a church-going husband guarantees a healthy relationship. Combine that with the fact that many churches still emphasize a ‘biblical manhood’ model that feels outdated and the church may simply not feel like a space where young women’s needs and values are reflected.
Beyond dating, there’s another reason young women may be opting out: burnout. The expectation that women should be the church’s built-in volunteer force is finally cracking. For years, women have disproportionately shouldered the emotional and logistical labor of church life—running children’s programs, leading Bible studies, serving in nonprofit ministries and organizing service projects. But according to Barna’s research, volunteerism among women has dropped dramatically.
“You’ve maybe heard the phrase ‘compassion fatigue,’” Kinnaman said. “There might be a sense in which young women are expressing a kind of compassion fatigue with the church. They’ve been the backbone of so much and they’re just done.”
The pandemic accelerated this shift. During COVID, women bore the brunt of caregiving responsibilities, managing remote schooling, job losses and the general chaos of a world turned upside down. Many of them never fully re-entered their previous church roles because, frankly, they didn’t want to. And with fewer young women stepping in to take their place, the entire system is feeling the strain.
This trend isn’t happening in a vacuum. As young women step back, young men are stepping in—at least slightly. Compared to a decade ago, young men are more engaged in faith communities. They’re consuming more long-form theological content (hello, three-hour podcasts), showing up in church more frequently and in some cases, seeking out tighter-knit faith communities.
Kinnaman notes that men’s faith engagement is still lower than women’s overall but the gap is narrowing in an unexpected way. One possible reason? Cultural shifts in masculinity. With conversations about gender roles and men’s purpose in modern society more volatile than ever, some young men may see faith as a stabilizing force in an uncertain world.
But Kinnaman warns that this isn’t necessarily a cause for celebration.
“There are positive signs, like young people being more spiritually open,” he said. “But the real question is, how do you interpret these trends? Because you’ll find enough evidence of both downward pressure on Christianity and signs of revival.”
Even as formal church attendance declines, interest in spirituality is booming. People are more open than ever to conversations about faith, meaning and purpose. But they’re also more likely to explore alternative spiritualities, from tarot cards to astrology to ghost hunting.
Kinnaman recalled a conversation with a woman who had been ghost hunting at the infamous Stanley Hotel (of The Shining fame). She was trying to connect with her late father but wasn’t interested in prayer.
“That’s the kind of moment we’re in,” he said. “People are deeply spiritually open but they’re open to anything and everything.”
For churches, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The rise of spiritual openness means people are still searching—but they may not find their answers within the traditional church structure.
The million-dollar question: what does this mean for the future of faith?
If churches don’t take the disengagement of young women seriously, they risk not just losing a demographic but reshaping the entire trajectory of American Christianity. For centuries, women have been the primary spiritual nurturers within families and communities. If they step back, their absence will be felt in profound ways.
Kinnaman says the church needs to stop assuming it has a built-in female workforce and start listening.
“This is a really important moment for us to stop and pay attention,” he said. “This is the first time—maybe ever—that women are not starting with a head start in their spiritual journeys. And we need to ask why.”
The data suggests that Gen Z women aren’t just rejecting church—they’re rejecting the church’s failure to engage them in meaningful ways. They’re skeptical of empty platitudes. They’re exhausted by unpaid emotional labor. And they want a faith that actually connects with their real lives—not just a repackaged version of their grandmother’s church.
The good news? Churches can still change. But they’ll need to step up, rethink their approach and recognize that the old assumptions don’t hold anymore. Because if they don’t, they won’t just lose a generation of women. They’ll lose the future of the church itself.
