Anything But Christian: Why Millennials Leave the Church

Millennials leave the church.

You’ve seen us, with our man-buns and wrist-tattoos. We’ve lurked in the corners of your church coffee-shops: girls with half their hair buzzed away, boys with blooming beards. We come after college begins, on our breaks. Then, we don’t come back.

Why don’t we come back?

By now, it’s no secret that non-religious millennials have no interest in Christianity. In fact, at least 35% of millennials are anti-church[1]. But what about us? The youths you raised? We’re the ones who attended youth group regularly. We laughed hysterically while racing Oreos off our foreheads. We listened to sermons. We cried at youth retreats. With hands lifted high, we professed Jesus Christ and said: though none go with me, still I will follow.

And now?

We don’t follow.

Somewhere between 18 and 21, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, millennials quit Christianity. Of the roughly 80% of young millennials (1990–1996) who were raised in religious homes, only 56% remain to call themselves Christian[2]. Many of us, even if we return, leave for a time. At some point after high school, we try to stand face to face with an invisible God…. and we see nothing there.