Is Christmas more a religious or cultural holiday?
Millennials are less religious than older Americans and less likely to identify with a religious group, and those traits are reflected in the way they celebrate Christmas. Nine-in-ten Millennials say they take part in Christmas, but only four-in-ten say they do so mainly as a religious holiday, according to a survey we conducted in 2013.
That stands in contrast to those in older generations, who in some cases are more likely to say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, attend religious services for Christmas and believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, according to a new look at the data.
Instead, 43% of Millennials say Christmas to them is more of a cultural holiday – about as many as celebrate it as a religious holiday (40%). By contrast, members of older generations are more likely to say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. Among Baby Boomers, for example, more than twice as many see Christmas as more religious (56%) than cultural (26%).
Is Christmas more a religious or cultural holiday?  | Don't  | Celebrate Christmas and see it as...  | celebrate  | Religious  | Cultural Other*  | Silent generation  | 68%  | 17  | 10  | Baby Boomers  | 56  | 26  | 10  | Generation.X  | 49  | 37  | Millennials  | 40  | 43  | 8  | Source: Survey conducted Dec 38, 2013.  | Sometimes celebrate/ Don it know/ "Refused answers not shown.  | *Inc ludes people who ce :le brate Christmas but do not say whe ther they think it isa  | re ligious or cultural holiday.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 