We’re Still a Majority Christian Nation, But More Than One in Four Have No Religious Affiliation
2/27/25 – – Yesterday the Pew Research Center released its 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. The key finding of the survey of 36,908 U.S. adults was that the percentage of our population identifying as Christian appears to be holding steady at 62% after more than a decade of dramatic decline (78% were Christians in 2007).
Leveling off after decades of growth were people reporting no religious affiliation at 29%, followed by people identifying with a religion other than Christianity at 7%.
Here’s the current breakdown according to the Pew research:
- Protestant – – 40%
- No religious affiliation (“nones”) – – 29%
- Catholic – – 19%
- Christian groups other than Protestants and Catholics – – 3%
- Jewish – – 1.7%
- Muslim – – 1.2 percent
- Buddhist – – 1.1%
- Hindu – – 0.9%
- Other non-Christian religions – – 2.2%
Interesting snapshot. But the Pew research suggests that the stability in Christian affiliation may not hold:
“Older, highly religious, heavily Christian generations are passing away. The younger generations succeeding them are much less religious, with smaller percentages of Christians and more ‘nones.’”
As for politics and religion, conservatives still skew toward strong Christian identity, while liberals are trending in the other direction:
“Today, 37% of self-described liberals identify with Christianity, down from 62% in 2007, a 25-point decline. Meanwhile, 51% of liberals now say they have no religion, up from 27% in 2007, a 24-point increase. There are now more religious ‘nones’ than Christians among liberals, a reversal since 2007.”
The Pew survey presents a nuanced picture of immigration’s influence on American religious identity:
“A majority of U.S. immigrants (58%) are Christian. About a quarter of foreign-born adults are unaffiliated, and 14% belong to other religions, including 4% who are Muslim, 4% who are Hindu and 3% who are Buddhist.”
Despite the American public’s long-term retreat from religion, the Pew findings help explain why the phrase “In God We Trust” will remain on our currency and our Pledge of Allegiance will continue to include the assertion that we are “One Nation Under God”:
“83% believe in God or a universal spirit.”
And 70% believe in an afterlife. (Maybe that explains why Republicans and Democrats, regardless of their religious affiliation, keep telling each other to “go to hell.”)
For anyone trying to make sense of today’s news and societal trends, the Pew Religious Landscape Survey (linked below) is well worth reading. Religion has always been an important, complicated part of the American experience. And with a topic as sensitive as religion, it’s always good to have facts to challenge or back up your views and strengthen your arguments.
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