Americans now do not practice their religion on the scale as before, nor do they pray as much compared to previous generations, according to a recent study published in Sage Open journal.
The research was carried out by a team of scholars from different colleges, and was led by Jean M. Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University.
The team of scientists examined the data from General Social Survey of 58,893 respondents taken between 1972 and 2014, and found that Americans were now less religious than the early 1980s generation. The survey also found that 18-to-29 year olds were the least religious people.
"The large declines in religious practice among young adults are also further evidence that Millennials are the least religious generation in memory, and possibly in American history," said Twenge.
The study said that there is a decline in the number of people who describe themselves as religious, or attend religious services.
According to the survey, the number of people who never prayed increased five-fold in about 40 years, and the amount of those who responded that they do not believe in God doubled.
The study noted that there has not been an inversely proportionate increase in mystic spirituality with the decline in belief in God, but people have become more secular. However, one surprising exception to the trend was a slight rise in Americans' belief in afterlife.
Responding to this movement, Twenge said: "It was interesting that fewer people participated in religion or prayed but more believed in an afterlife. It might be part of a growing entitlement mentality - thinking you can get something for nothing."
However, in one panel discussion on religion in Washington DC in 2015, professors in religious studies suggested that religion is growing in America, instead of declining. They remarked that even though church attendance from larger denominations is declining, thousands of smaller denominations have grown, which more than compensate for the loss of affiliations to larger churches.
Byron Johnson, founding director of the Institute of Religious Studies and a professor of social sciences, said that the religious researches are often misrepresented. He gave an example of study conducted by Pew Research, which claimed that 44 percent of Americans now don't associate with their religious denominations in which they were grown.
"We look at that study and say that is a phenomenal thing that people would switch churches," Johnson said. "We see this is a measure of vitality and health and others are interpreting it is an abandoning of the faith, just because I think they read something into the data that wasn't there or they misinterpreted the data."
