By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — There is a growing “religion gap” between older Americans and those under 30, according to a new Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey.

The study found that one-fourth of Americans ages 18-29 said they were atheists, agnostics or had no religion, while only 7 percent of those 65 and over described themselves that way. Eighteen percent of those ages 30-49 and 13 percent of those 50-64 fell into the no religion/atheist/agnostic category.

At 7 percent, the under-30s also were more than twice as likely as those 65 and over (3 percent) to say they belonged to a religion other than Protestant, Catholic or Jewish.

Catholics made up 24 percent of the 65 and over group and the 30-49 group, 23 percent of those aged 50-64 and 20 percent of those between 18 and 29.

The 152-page study, called “Growing Old in America: Expectations vs. Reality,” addressed a variety of issues related to aging.

The older the respondent, the more likely he or she was to say that religion was very important.

Seventy percent of those 75 and older said religion was very important in their lives, while only 44 percent of the youngest group of adults said so.

Pew also found differences in the importance of religion based on gender and race, especially for older Americans. Seventy-six percent of women 65 and over but only 53 percent of men in that age group said religion was very important to them.

Eighty-seven percent of black Americans older than 64 said religion was very important in their lives, compared to 63 percent of older white Americans.

The survey found similar differences by race and gender across all age groups. By 63 percent to 48 percent, women were more likely to say religion was very important to them.

Blacks of all ages (80 percent) also were more likely than whites (50 percent) to say religion was very important in their lives.

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