Around the world, 1 in 5—or about 20%—of adults have left the faith they were raised in, according to a Pew Research Center study of almost 80,000 adults from 36 countries. Apparently “Christianity” (this likely includes all denominations, including very liberal churches that don’t actually preach the gospel) and Buddhism suffered the greatest loss of numbers from this “religious switching” and “most of the switching is disaffiliation–people leaving the religion of their childhood and no longer identifying with any religion.” Of course, everyone really has a religion because everyone has a worldview. So when people say “no religion” that is really a religion based on man’s word.

This isn’t a big surprise—we’ve been commenting on growing secularization, particularly of the West, for decades. And most of this “religious switching” is happening in North America, Europe, East Asia (specifically South Korea), and South America.

Interestingly, though the secularization trend holds for South Korea, it also has “the highest share of people who say they were raised with no affiliation but have a religion today (9%). Most of them (6% of all South Korean adults) say they had no religious upbringing and are now Christian.”

But what’s happening in the West and even in South America? Well, obviously, it’s complex, but I believe the growth of religious disaffiliation really comes down to two reasons.

1. Failure of parents to pass on a spiritual legacy: A spiritual legacy doesn’t happen by accident! It takes intentionality, time, and effort. It takes opening God’s Word with your children, discipling them, and equipping them with a biblical worldview and with answers to the issues of our day. But so many parents leave the spiritual upbringing of their children up to the church—only a few hours a week!
2. Failure of the church to stand on the authority of God’s Word and equip the coming generations: Many parents have entrusted the spiritual upbringing of their children to the church, but so many churches have become increasingly shallow, focused on entertainment rather than prioritizing true discipleship, biblical worldview teaching, and apologetics. And the result is generations of churchgoers who don’t know what they believe or why they believe it—and they’re either ineffective believers or easy prey for the secular world as they slowly drift into disaffiliation.

So what can we do? Well, we can do what God’s Word commands. We (especially dads, the spiritual leaders of the home!) can prayerfully prioritize the spiritual upbringing of our children, teaching them God’s Word in every situation and at every opportunity (Deuteronomy 6:7), understanding that we can’t save our kids—only God can—but God often uses faithful parents to pass on a spiritual legacy and build his church.

We can start teaching biblical worldview and apologetics in our homes and in our churches, showing how God’s Word is the only proper lens through which to interpret the world. Rather than teaching God’s Word as something we add to our thinking, we need to raise up generations who will start with God’s Word in every area. 

How are you prioritizing the spiritual legacy of your family? Think about that!

Ken Ham is an author, speaker, and Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis and its two popular interests: the acclaimed Creation Museum and the internationally known Ark Encounter.