Survey: Not Believing in God a ‘Greater Liability in Dating’ than Being ‘Very Religious’

While 42 percent of Americans say a potential partner being “very religious” is more negative than positive, not believing in God “appears to be a greater liability in dating,” polling from the Survey Center on American Life found.

Daniel Cox, the director of Survey Center on American Life, wrote that despite the United States being a “relatively religious country,” some Americans are not interested in dating someone they view as “very religious.” However, 20 percent view religiosity as a positive attribute, and 36 percent say it would not make a difference.

“At the same time, not believing in God appears to be a greater liability in dating,” Cox wrote. “Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans say they would be less likely to date someone who does not believe in God. Only 12 percent say not believing in God would make them more inclined to date someone. Thirty-eight percent of Americans say it would not matter to them one way or the other.”

Religious preferences vary by political affiliation, the survey found. Sixty-nine percent of self-identified liberals say they would be less interested in dating a very religious person compared to 24 percent of conservatives. In stark contrast, 75 percent of conservative women say they would be less likely to date someone who does not believe in God. 

Self-described religious Americans have “significant reservations” about dating an atheist, although “they are not comparably enthusiastic about dating someone who is very religious,” Cox wrote. The survey found that 84 percent of white evangelical Christians say they are less likely to date someone who does not believe in God, and 56 percent say they would be more likely to date someone who is very religious. 

“Conversely, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of religiously unaffiliated Americans would be less likely to date someone who is very religious, but only 31 percent report that they would be more inclined to date an atheist,” Cox wrote. 

A Survey Center on American Life also detailed in March of 2022 how younger generations are less likely to adhere to a religion. Over one-third of Generation Z, 34 percent, consider themselves unaffiliated from religious groups. That figure decreases to 29 percent among millennials, 25 percent among Generation X, 18 percent among Baby Boomers, and nine percent of the Silent Generation. 

American Survey Center also noted a “precipitous drop in church membership over the past three decades” among those on the political left. 

“In 1998, a majority of liberals (57 percent) were members of a church or other type of religious organization,” the report read, noting that the figure dropped to 35 percent in 2021. 

The December 2021 analysis from Gallup found one-quarter indicating that religion is “not very important” in their world.