These findings are not new, but offer further confirmation that the United States is becoming less religious.

The new study, published in the American Journal of Sociology, and conducted by the University College London, along with Duke University, shows a drop in the number of Americans who claim religious affiliations, attend church regularly, and believe in God. Not surprisingly it also finds that these drops are driven by generational differences.

UCL’s Professor David Voas said that “These declines aren’t happening fast, but the signs are now unmistakable. It has become clear that American religiosity has been declining for decades, and the decline is driven by the same dynamic of generational change that has driven religious decline across the developed world.”

Younger generations are claiming less religious affiliation and have contributed to the massive growth of America’s “nones” and coincide politically with a drop in support for socially conservative policies. When your politics are not tied to religious belief, they tend to be more open-minded and liberal.

According to the study, 68 percent Americans aged 65 and over said they had no doubt God existed compared to 45 percent of young adults, aged 18-30. 41 percent of people 70 and older said they attend church services at least once a month, compared to 18 percent of people 60 and below. These are pretty substantial gaps that will only increase with younger generations, especially as the crowd that has no religious affiliation have children who don’t grow up in a religious environment.

Professor Mark Chaves of Duke University, one of the study’s authors, said that “The US decline has been so gradual that until recently scientists haven’t had enough data to be sure the trend was real. The US has long been considered an exception to the modern claim that religion is declining, but if you look at the trajectory, and the generational dynamic that is producing the trajectory, we may not be an exception after all.”