Study finds US evangelical religiosity declining despite higher engagement levels

A recent analysis by Washington University professor Ryan Burge, utilizing Pew Research Center data, indicates that while American evangelicals maintain higher levels of religious engagement than other Christian traditions, they are not immune to secularization. Using a "composite religiosity index" (CRI) that measures factors such as church attendance, the importance of faith, and certainty in God, the study found that evangelicals consistently score approximately 20 points higher than their non-evangelical counterparts.

Despite this higher engagement, the data reveals a downward trend in religiosity across all age groups since 2007. Burge notes that every generation of evangelicals is less religious today than it was a decade or two ago. While evangelicals are experiencing a decline, the study suggests they are secularizing at a slower rate than other Christian groups. Burge attributes this broader trend to both the lower religious engagement of successive generations and a tendency for individuals to become more secular as they age.