Christians’ support for Trump is driving Gen Zers away from church, study claims

July 23, 2026

The Billy Graham Center Research Institute says a new survey shows that nearly half of Gen Z Americans say Christians’ support for President Donald Trump is a reason they’re less likely to attend church.

The Christian Post reports that the study, funded by the Lilly Endowment, surveyed 2,365 Gen Z adults, ages 18-28, through NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel between Aug. 9 and Sept. 26, 2024.

According to researchers, 48% of respondents said they agree with the statement “Christians’ support of Trump has made me less likely to go to church.”

Rick Richardson, professor of evangelism and leadership at Wheaton College and the study’s lead researcher, told The Christian Post earlier this week that the research is yet unpublished and being adapted into a book.

Richardson said, “We realized that spiritual interest among Gen Z young adults is quite high but engagement with churches has decreased over time. There has been an upturn recently mainly among men and often with more traditional denominations like Catholicism.”

According to the Christian Post, Richardson said he was surprised by several of the study’s findings, including that “young adults are more positive toward churches and toward engagement in churches than we expected.”

In recent years, Trump has been a source of much debate and his political movement continues to impact the nature of American Christianity, especially among self-identified Evangelicals.

National Association of Evangelicals President Walter Kim expressed concern that many predominantly immigrant congregations are shifting to virtual services, closing down or are suffering drastic attendance drops “because of a deep climate of fear.”

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