Exodus: Why Americans are Leaving Religion—and Why They’re Unlikely to Come Back — A lack of belief in teaching of religion was the most commonly cited reason for disaffiliation. Among the important motivations in leaving their childhood religion are: they stopped believing in the religion’s teachings (60%), their family was never that religious when they were growing up (32%), and their experience of negative religious teachings about or treatment of gay and lesbian people (29%). One important reason why the unaffiliated are experiencing rising retention rates is because younger Americans raised in nonreligious homes are less apt to join a religious tradition or denomination than young adults in previous eras.
For the inverse theme see Young People Not Leaving Religion.
