Pew Forum director Luis Lugo says the latest survey offers both good and bad news — the bad being a "decrease in brand loyalty" with larger faiths.

And the good news? The change trend is not a massive move away from religion but includes turning to other faiths. That includes those unaffiliated who say religion is still somewhat important and see themselves still pursuing a spiritual journey, he said.

Most of those who had changed religions had done so before the age of 24. Most converts had joined their current faith by age 36, few changes were reported after the age of 50.

Childhood and teenage religious activity and adult conversions were both key indicators for increased religious activity in participants' current faith.

Of the 56 percent currently in their original faith, one in six had joined another religion before returning to that of their childhood.

Most who had changed religions reported both having waned in their previous faith for a year or two and taking some time before adopting a new religion.

"This change is a process that happens over time," Lugo said. "Very few have a Damascus Road-type change. It builds up over time."

From the original 2007 survey, 1.8 percent of the participants cited the LDS Church as their childhood faith; 0.4 percent joined the LDS Church from another religion; with 0.5 percent leaving their Mormon roots for another faith. By comparison, Jewish and Jehovah's Witness faiths saw respective increases of a 0.3 and 0.5 percent and respective decreases of 0.5 and 0.4 percent.

Complete surveys are available at www.pewforum.org

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