Critical Disengagement Age Window — When and Why Adventist Youth Leave

Executive summary

Research consistently identifies ages **17–23** as the critical disengagement window for Adventist youth, with 40–50% of baptised teens leaving by their mid-20s. However, recent broader data challenges whether this is uniquely an 18–23 phenomenon: the American Survey Center (2024) found that 57% of Americans who disaffiliate do so **before age 18**, with 74% of current 18–29-year-olds reporting they left by age 17 or earlier. This suggests the Adventist 18–23 window may reflect not when faith is...