The share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian has dropped to 63 percent. The portion with no religious affiliation has risen to 29 percent. Weekly attendance at religious services now stands at 23 percent.
Key Takeaways
- 55% of 70% Christian affiliation in 1990 dropped to 64% in 2020
- Unaffiliated rose from 5% in 1972 to 29% in 2021
- Catholic share declined from 24% in 2007 to 20% in 2021
- In 2021, 63% of U.S. adults identified as Christians, down from 78% in 2007
- 29% of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated ("nones") in 2021, up from 16% in 2007
- 1% of U.S. adults identified as Jewish in 2021
- 72% of U.S. adults believe in God with absolute certainty in 2022
- 15% of U.S. adults do not believe in God in 2022
- 81% of Protestants believe the Bible is the literal word of God in 2019
- 23% of U.S. adults attended religious services weekly in 2021, down from 36% in 2000
- 35% of U.S. Protestants attended church weekly in 2023
- 33% of U.S. Catholics attended mass weekly in 2023
Christianity is still the majority but is steadily shrinking as the unaffiliated surge and weekly worship declines.
Related reading
01 · Category
Historical Trends28 stats
01
55% of 70% Christian affiliation in 1990 dropped to 64% in 2020
02
Unaffiliated rose from 5% in 1972 to 29% in 2021
03
Catholic share declined from 24% in 2007 to 20% in 2021
04
Protestant share fell from 51% in 2007 to 41% in 2021
05
Church membership dropped from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020
06
Weekly attendance fell from 42% in 2000 to 34% in 2018
07
Religiously important declined from 70% in 1965 to 49% in 2021
08
Evangelical share stable at 25% from 2007-2021
09
Mainline Protestant decline from 18% to 14% 2007-2021
10
Nones among youth rose from 10% in 1990 to 40% in 2020
11
Bible literalism dropped from 65% in 1981 to 20% in 2021
12
Belief in God fell from 98% in 1950s to 81% in 2022
13
Heaven belief stable at 72% from 2001-2021
14
Mormon growth slowed from 2% in 2007 to 1% in 2021
15
Muslim population tripled from 0.4% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2021
16
Jewish affiliation declined from 2% to 1% 2007-2021
17
Black Protestant stable at 7% from 2007-2021
18
Hispanic Catholics fell from 25% to 19% of total pop 2007-2021
19
White Christians dropped from 54% to 42% 2007-2021
20
Southern Baptist membership peaked 2006 at 16M, now 13M in 2022
21
Episcopal Church membership halved since 1960s to 1.6M in 2020
22
Attendance post-COVID dropped 10% further in 2022
23
Nones projected to 35% by 2030
24
Christians projected to 54% by 2050 from 64% in 2020
25
48% of 1937 Gallup poll were church members, peaked 76% in 1947
26
Prayer daily from 64% in 2006 to 52% in 2021
27
35% of adults Protestant in 1972 GSS, now 40%
28
Catholic self-ID stable but practice down 20% since 1980s
Interpretation
Historical Trends Interpretation
While a nation built on prayer is finding more reasons to send thoughts than kneel for them, the data suggests America's religious landscape isn't so much collapsing as it is undergoing a dramatic, quiet renegotiation where the pews are emptying but the pew-sitters are holding their ground.
02 · Category
Religious Affiliation30 stats
01
In 2021, 63% of U.S. adults identified as Christians, down from 78% in 2007
02
29% of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated ("nones") in 2021, up from 16% in 2007
03
1% of U.S. adults identified as Jewish in 2021
04
1% of U.S. adults identified as Muslim in 2021
05
21% of U.S. adults identified as Protestant in 2023
06
24% of U.S. adults identified as Catholic in 2023
07
5% of U.S. adults identified as non-Christian faiths in 2023
08
24% of U.S. adults had no religious preference in 2023
09
40% of Americans aged 18-29 were religiously unaffiliated in 2021
10
11% of Americans aged 65+ were religiously unaffiliated in 2021
11
44% of U.S. adults identified as evangelical Protestants in 2014
12
14% of U.S. adults identified as mainline Protestants in 2014
13
20% of U.S. adults identified as Catholics in 2014
14
2% of U.S. adults identified as Orthodox Christians in 2020
15
1.1% of U.S. adults identified as Buddhist in 2020
16
69% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014
17
26% of Americans were unaffiliated in 2018 per ARIS
18
76% of Americans identified with a religion in 2018 per GSS
19
4% of U.S. population was Jewish in 2020
20
3.6 million Americans identified as Mormon in 2014
21
1.7% of U.S. adults were Hindu in 2021
22
0.9% of U.S. adults were Sikh in 2020 estimates
23
55% of U.S. Christians identified as Protestant in 2022
24
35% of U.S. Christians identified as Catholic in 2022
25
10% of U.S. Christians identified as other denominations in 2022
26
28% of Generation Z Americans were religiously unaffiliated in 2020
27
17% of Baby Boomers were religiously unaffiliated in 2020
28
2.4% of U.S. adults identified as Unitarian Universalist in 2014
29
0.4% identified as Jehovah's Witnesses in 2014
30
0.7% identified as Quaker in 2014
Interpretation
Religious Affiliation Interpretation
America's religious landscape is undergoing a quiet but profound reformation, where the rising tide of the "nones" suggests that while God isn't dead, a growing number of Americans are respectfully taking a sabbatical from organized religion.
More related reading
03 · Category
Religious Beliefs29 stats
01
72% of U.S. adults believe in God with absolute certainty in 2022
02
15% of U.S. adults do not believe in God in 2022
03
81% of Protestants believe the Bible is the literal word of God in 2019
04
28% of Catholics believe the Bible is literal word of God in 2019
05
74% of Americans believe in heaven in 2021
06
59% of Americans believe in hell in 2021
07
33% of religiously unaffiliated believe in God
08
92% of evangelicals believe in God with certainty
09
63% of mainline Protestants believe Satan exists
10
58% of Americans believe Jesus was God incarnate in 2021
11
26% of Americans believe in reincarnation in 2021
12
69% of Black Americans believe in God with certainty
13
80% of white evangelicals oppose abortion in most cases
14
60% of Catholics support legal abortion
15
47% of Americans believe creationism over evolution
16
89% of Latter-day Saints believe the Bible is literal
17
83% of Muslims believe in sharia as divine law
18
68% of Jews believe in afterlife
19
55% of Hindus believe in karma
20
29% of unaffiliated believe in spiritual energy
21
38% of Americans say religion is very important
22
75% of weekly attenders say religion very important
23
11% of nones say religion very important
24
40% of Americans believe angels and demons are active
25
65% of Republicans believe Bible is literal
26
14% of Democrats believe Bible literal
27
50% of Americans under 30 believe in God
28
76% of Americans over 65 believe in God
29
85% of Southerners believe in God with certainty
Interpretation
Religious Beliefs Interpretation
The statistics paint a picture of a nation that is, in many ways, a theological mosaic held together by the stubborn glue of certainty, where the lines of scripture, doctrine, and personal conviction are drawn with wildly different pens—some in permanent marker, others in faint pencil, and a few with the enthusiastic but blurry crayon of spiritual-but-not-religious energy.
04 · Category
Worship Attendance26 stats
01
23% of U.S. adults attended religious services weekly in 2021, down from 36% in 2000
02
35% of U.S. Protestants attended church weekly in 2023
03
33% of U.S. Catholics attended mass weekly in 2023
04
25% of Americans prayed daily in 2021
05
49% of evangelicals attended services weekly in 2021
06
33% of mainline Protestants attended weekly in 2021
07
24% of Catholics attended weekly in 2021
08
81% of weekly attenders considered religion very important in 2023
09
15% of religiously unaffiliated attended services weekly in 2021
10
37% of Americans read the Bible outside religious services at least monthly in 2021
11
65% of Black Protestants attended weekly in 2021
12
45% of Latter-day Saints attended weekly in 2021
13
39% of Jews attended services monthly or more in 2020
14
42% of Muslims attended mosque weekly in 2017
15
52% of Hindus engaged in daily prayer in 2014
16
62% of Buddhists meditated daily or weekly in 2014
17
20% of Americans attended religious services almost never in 2023
18
58% of Republicans attended weekly or nearly weekly in 2023
19
31% of Democrats attended weekly or nearly weekly in 2023
20
75% of weekly churchgoers are married
21
22% of Gen Z attended monthly or more in 2020
22
38% of Millennials attended monthly or more in 2020
23
48% of U.S. adults feel a deep sense of spiritual peace weekly
24
27% of non-religious Americans feel spiritual peace weekly
25
68% of Southerners attended religious services weekly in 2021
26
20% of Northeasterners attended weekly in 2021
Interpretation
Worship Attendance Interpretation
While the Sunday morning pews are getting noticeably roomier across America, the core congregation—evangelicals, Black Protestants, and the faithfully married—are still holding the doors open, suggesting religion is not so much collapsing as it is condensing into a more intense, committed, and politically polarized core.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). America Religion Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/america-religion-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "America Religion Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/america-religion-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "America Religion Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/america-religion-statistics.
Sources & references
8 datasets cited across this report