A new survey from Barna Research paints a troubling picture of America’s cultural drift as nearly 40% of Gen Z women say they have no faith.

Among women aged 18 to 24, identifying as atheist, agnostic, or religiously unaffiliated is no longer rare—it’s the leading trend, according to data gathered in the summer of 2023 from a sample of 2,000 participants between 13 and 24 years old, as The Christian Post reports.

Barna’s report found that 38% of young adult women in Gen Z reject belief in God or organized religion, far outpacing the 32% of men within the same age group who say the same. It’s a sharp departure from traditional gender patterns in faith and religious life.

Young Women Pull Back From Belief and Engagement

Even as public expressions of spirituality remain common among many Americans, Gen Z women are quickly pulling away from cornerstone religious practices. They are the least likely of any demographic group surveyed to attend church, pray, or read the Bible.

Only 30% of these women had attended a church service in the past week—a number that trails behind every other Gen Z subgroup. Meanwhile, just 31% said they had read the Bible, compared to a broader average of 41% across their peers.

While 58% said they had prayed recently, that figure lags well behind the 63% of younger teen girls and over 70% of teen boys who had done so. It seems the further Gen Z women move into adulthood, the further they drift from spiritual grounding.

Support Structures, or Lack Thereof, Fuel the Divide

This unraveling isn’t occurring in a vacuum. The report highlights a significant relational breakdown between Gen Z women and the adults who helped raise them. Just 23% of these young adults say they feel supported by their father, and only 36% report feeling supported by their mother.

That’s a steep drop from the 74% of younger teen girls who say they feel supported by their mothers. There’s a relational collapse here that can’t be ignored, as life transitions aren’t easing young women into adulthood—they're isolating them.

Daniel Copeland, Barna’s vice president of research, points directly to the solution: "If we want to see change in Gen Z women’s spiritual trajectories, relationships are the place to start." The implication is profound—faith is not manufactured on social media or at university lectures, but in the living room and around the dinner table.

Belief in God Is Still High—Just Not Among This Group

Seventy-three percent of Gen Z overall still say they believe in God or a higher power. Nearly half, 47%, affirm the fundamental Christian belief that Jesus is the only way to God. But these beliefs are weaker among young adult women than in any other Gen Z subgroup.

That’s not just a generational story—it’s a gendered one. For decades, women were the spiritual backbones of their families, often leading the way in religious instruction and practice. But Barna’s data now shows that men are more likely to be in the pews than women—43% of men attend weekly services versus just 36% of women.

That statistic marks a major reversal in religious engagement, historically higher among women. It’s the largest gender gap ever recorded by Barna, and it swings in a direction no one anticipated a decade ago.

Disconnection From Older Generations Is Deep

Perhaps most telling of all: only 32% of Gen Z women believe their parents even understand them. That lack of emotional and generational bridge-building may explain why so many are abandoning traditions once passed from one generation to the next.

A full 40% of Gen Z women agree with the statement, “Older people don’t seem to understand the pressure my generation is under.” No one is arguing that today’s world isn’t stressful—but abandoning God and community for curated self-identity doesn’t tend to solve anything.

As Copeland puts it, “Faith is a skill that must be modeled first, and strong, supportive relationships can bridge the gap between doubt and belief.” Modeling is missing. So is the church’s outreach to young women who feel alienated, not immoral.

What This Means Moving Forward

The pain in these numbers isn’t just theological—it’s societal. A rejection of faith often leaves nothing in its place but isolation and uncertainty. The breakdown in faith mirrors the breakdown in the family, and both must be addressed together.

Young women are clearly searching for meaning, but many are looking in places where faith has been labeled oppressive instead of authentic. If traditional values offer both truth and comfort, perhaps it’s time we start showing—not just saying—why they still matter.

Whether leaders in the church and the home will take that challenge seriously could determine whether Gen Z women ever come back. The data is clear: they’re not just bored. They feel forgotten.