One result of note from the study was the disparity between the men and women in their beliefs. Although more had believed in God during their teenage years, it was found that 54% of those men were now atheist or agnostic as opposed to 34% of those women. Further, 60% of the women believe in life after death and only 35% of the men do. Two further interesting statistics were that of the 82 Muslims interviewed, 9 in 10 said they knew God existed, and 71% of Evangelical Christians were secure in their belief of God. There was no conclusion given for the gender variance in belief, so one can only surmise.
Trying to find a reason for the gender imbalance, I'd suggest that men are more fixed in their opinions - ideas are either black or white. God cannot be proven, so men are more prone to say He doesn't exist. Women are more open-minded and will not so willingly dismiss their faith, even if God's existence can't be proven. As mothers, they may be more likely to display religious beliefs because of their children. This, however, is just my opinion.
A person may believe in God because they find comfort in answering to a higher being and feel that they lead a better life because of it. Others are believers because of fear and are frightened of the consequences of not doing so; if they upset God, they may end up in hell.
Churches need to encourage membership and participation in order to maintain their numbers and they haven't been good at doing that. Ministers preach outdated sermons that are out of touch with today's world. Instead of attracting newcomers, they drive them away.
Throughout history it's been shown that religious people, as a whole, lack tolerance, which is a bit of a contradiction; surely, someone with faith should also have understanding. Religions have divided populations and, as a result, there have been numerous civil and international wars. Millions have died in the name of God, and continue to do so.
Is it any wonder then, that an increasing number of people are moving away from religion? We now have more freedom to decide for ourselves than ever before and outdated religious taboos have no place in today's society; at least we no longer burn our neighbour to death because they're Protestant or Catholic, and the need to be one or the other has faded. People make up their own minds and don't look to the church for guidance. There are exceptions and we can't ignore the serious dangers of religious extremism, especially as demonstrated recently by certain Islamists. Thankfully, extremists are still in a minority, but unfortunately they can create fear - certainly one good reason for dismissing religion as an unnecessary pressure on today's society.
Returning to the study, which could well mirror the beliefs of the generation interviewed, we may accept that God isn't the powerful influence He has been for many centuries. My wish would be that people could be caring and compassionate without religion, that they could love their neighbour irrespective of their beliefs and, above all, recognise that we could all live harmoniously on this small planet, without attempting to dominate each other.