"Another theory is that differences in religious commitment reflect change during the life course. Although young adults often start out less religious than their elders, they tend to become more devout as they age, have children and begin to face their own mortality (or so the theory suggests)."
They have a lot of hypothesis that could all be true - i.e. the younger people who started off with a lower percentage religious as measured would end up with a higher percentage religious if measured as a group later, but still less than the current age group measured right now.
Or maybe this one?
While not ruling out the influence of other factors – such as when and where people live – one research team argued that “life course trajectories may trump generational placement as predictors of religious behaviors and orientations.”
Lastly, they have the caveat that America is kind of special case with several contravening indicators, with some conditions among the best and among the worst.
UK passed >50% atheism some years back and is steadily becoming more so going on census. Ethnic minorities seem far more likely to retain some religion and keep the figures up. In my generation most were still given some Christian instruction, sent to Sunday school etc. The majority had grown out of it by adulthood. Church wedding might be chosen for pretty setting. Church school picked for children as it does well in local ratings.
Now I'm middle aged. Over the years quite a few formerly religious friends have become atheist or agnostic - often because life got serious. Of the few people I know who are still religious they are mostly old folks. Surely some of those life events would have triggered a few former atheists to find religion by now?
I just find it hard to believe I occupy wildly unrepresentative atheistic circles.
As an aside we often think the significant part that religion still seems to play in the US rather strange from this side of the Atlantic.
Well, Ireland aside, the UK never had much of a religion to begin with (except back in times of John Fox or in the times of the druids). The English church is as close you can get to atheism while still being called Christian.
Secular meditation does have wide appeal, and seems like a much healthier alternative free of dogmatic tradition.