Children of Divorce Less Religious in Adult Life

Children of divorce are less religious in their adult years than their counterparts from intact families, according to a new report from the Institute for American Values.

The report sets out to increase understanding about “how growing up in a divorced family might shape the religious identities and faith journeys” of the roughly one million U.S. children who experience the divorce of their parents each year.

The report found that “when children of divorce reach adulthood they feel less religious on the whole and are less likely to be involved in the regular practice of a faith…. It is also becoming clear that grown children of divorce stand at the leading edge of a generation that considers itself ‘spiritual but not religious.’ The report added their spiritual stories are quite often characterized by loss or suffering.”