It’s not news that young people are further on the left of the political spectrum than older generations.
Of unique interest now is that the movement to the left is more disproportionate among young women than young men.
As a nation, we should know this is happening and try to understand why.
Women, traditionally, have been the stabilizing cultural influence in chaotic times. But consider the data from a recent Pew Research survey.
Per the survey, our young people are less inclined than in previous generations to marry and have children.
Among those aged 18 to 24, 7 percent are now married compared to 18 percent in the same age group 20 years ago, in 1993.
In the age group 25 to 29, 29 percent are now married compared to 50 percent in the same age group in 1993.
However, in this survey, when young unmarrieds in the age group 18 to 34 were asked if they wanted to marry someday, 72 percent of men said yes and 69 percent of women said yes.
When they asked those 18 to 34 with no children if they wanted children someday, 57 percent of men said yes and 45 percent of women said yes.
Getting married, having children, and building a family reflect personal values. So it is not surprising that along with these trends in marriage and children, the American Enterprise Institute found that “Young Women Are Leaving Church in Unprecedented Numbers.”
Per this survey, 54 percent of Gen Z (those born 1997 to 2012) adults who left their religion were women; 46 percent were men.
Disaffiliation from religion has always been higher among men than women. The same survey reports the following among young adults leaving religion: 53 percent of millennial (born 1981 to 1996) men compared to 47 percent women; 55 percent of Gen X (born 1965 to 1980) men compared to 45 percent women; 57 percent of baby boomer (born 1955 to 1964) men compared to 43 percent women.
What’s driving the shift to more young women disaffiliating from religion than young men?
Per the same survey, 61 percent of Gen Z women identified as “feminist.” And 65 percent of women aged 18 to 29 disagreed with the statement “most churches and religious congregations treat men and women equally.”
All this has a not surprising fallout in the political arena.
A new Gallup poll reports the average percentage of women aged 18 to 29 identifying as “liberal/very liberal” over the period from 2017 to 2024 was 40 percent. The same age group of women over the period from 2001 to 2007 identifying as “liberal/very liberal” was 28 percent. So the number increased by 12 percent.
However, over the same time periods, there was no change in the percentage of men 18 to 29 identifying as “liberal/very liberal.” Over over 2017 to 2024, it was 25 percent, and over 2001 to 2007, it was 25 percent.
The difference in the percentage of women identifying as “liberal/very liberal” compared to men increased from 3 percent in the 2001–2007 period to 15 points in the 2017–2024 period.
In that same Gallup survey, the percentage of women saying that “abortion should be legal under any/almost all circumstances” increased 18 percent over the two time periods. The percentage that said that the environment should be prioritized over economic growth increased by 19 percent.
However, the percentage of young women who said they were worried about energy availability and affordability declined 11 points; the percentage worried about federal spending and deficits declined 14 points; and the percentage worried about the economy declined 16 points.
The moral relativism and hedonism of modern culture have taken root more strongly in our young women than among our young men. That does not point to a healthy future for our nation, and it behooves us to try to understand what is driving this trend—and to do something about it.
