America’s religious makeup has shifted fast, with “nones” reaching 29% of U.S. adults in 2021, up sharply from 5% as recently as 1972. At the same time, Christianity has declined from 63% of Americans in 2021, and weekly attendance slid from 42% in 2000 to 34% in 2018. The result is a country where the headline categories still look familiar, but beliefs, practices, and regional patterns no longer add up the way they used to.
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
Historical Trends
155% of 70% Christian affiliation in 1990 dropped to 64% in 2020
Single source
2Unaffiliated rose from 5% in 1972 to 29% in 2021
Verified
3Catholic share declined from 24% in 2007 to 20% in 2021
Verified
4Protestant share fell from 51% in 2007 to 41% in 2021
Verified
5Church membership dropped from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020
Verified
6Weekly attendance fell from 42% in 2000 to 34% in 2018
Directional
7Religiously important declined from 70% in 1965 to 49% in 2021
Verified
8Evangelical share stable at 25% from 2007-2021
Verified
9Mainline Protestant decline from 18% to 14% 2007-2021
Single source
10Nones among youth rose from 10% in 1990 to 40% in 2020
Verified
11Bible literalism dropped from 65% in 1981 to 20% in 2021
Verified
12Belief in God fell from 98% in 1950s to 81% in 2022
Directional
13Heaven belief stable at 72% from 2001-2021
Verified
14Mormon growth slowed from 2% in 2007 to 1% in 2021
Verified
15Muslim population tripled from 0.4% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2021
Single source
16Jewish affiliation declined from 2% to 1% 2007-2021
Single source
17Black Protestant stable at 7% from 2007-2021
Verified
18Hispanic Catholics fell from 25% to 19% of total pop 2007-2021
Verified
19White Christians dropped from 54% to 42% 2007-2021
Verified
20Southern Baptist membership peaked 2006 at 16M, now 13M in 2022
Single source
21Episcopal Church membership halved since 1960s to 1.6M in 2020
Verified
22Attendance post-COVID dropped 10% further in 2022
Verified
23Nones projected to 35% by 2030
Verified
24Christians projected to 54% by 2050 from 64% in 2020
Verified
2548% of 1937 Gallup poll were church members, peaked 76% in 1947
Directional
26Prayer daily from 64% in 2006 to 52% in 2021
Verified
2735% of adults Protestant in 1972 GSS, now 40%
Single source
28Catholic self-ID stable but practice down 20% since 1980s
Verified
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.
Religious Affiliation
1In 2021, 63% of U.S. adults identified as Christians, down from 78% in 2007
Verified
229% of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated ("nones") in 2021, up from 16% in 2007
Verified
31% of U.S. adults identified as Jewish in 2021
Verified
41% of U.S. adults identified as Muslim in 2021
Verified
521% of U.S. adults identified as Protestant in 2023
Single source
624% of U.S. adults identified as Catholic in 2023
Directional
75% of U.S. adults identified as non-Christian faiths in 2023
Directional
824% of U.S. adults had no religious preference in 2023
Directional
940% of Americans aged 18-29 were religiously unaffiliated in 2021
Verified
1011% of Americans aged 65+ were religiously unaffiliated in 2021
Verified
1144% of U.S. adults identified as evangelical Protestants in 2014
Verified
1214% of U.S. adults identified as mainline Protestants in 2014
Verified
1320% of U.S. adults identified as Catholics in 2014
Verified
142% of U.S. adults identified as Orthodox Christians in 2020
Verified
151.1% of U.S. adults identified as Buddhist in 2020
Single source
1669% of Americans identified as Christian in 2014
Verified
1726% of Americans were unaffiliated in 2018 per ARIS
Verified
1876% of Americans identified with a religion in 2018 per GSS
Verified
194% of U.S. population was Jewish in 2020
Verified
203.6 million Americans identified as Mormon in 2014
Verified
211.7% of U.S. adults were Hindu in 2021
Single source
220.9% of U.S. adults were Sikh in 2020 estimates
Directional
2355% of U.S. Christians identified as Protestant in 2022
Verified
2435% of U.S. Christians identified as Catholic in 2022
Verified
2510% of U.S. Christians identified as other denominations in 2022
Directional
2628% of Generation Z Americans were religiously unaffiliated in 2020
Directional
2717% of Baby Boomers were religiously unaffiliated in 2020
Verified
282.4% of U.S. adults identified as Unitarian Universalist in 2014
Directional
290.4% identified as Jehovah's Witnesses in 2014
Single source
300.7% identified as Quaker in 2014
Verified
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
Religious Beliefs
172% of U.S. adults believe in God with absolute certainty in 2022
Verified
215% of U.S. adults do not believe in God in 2022
Verified
381% of Protestants believe the Bible is the literal word of God in 2019
Directional
428% of Catholics believe the Bible is literal word of God in 2019
Single source
574% of Americans believe in heaven in 2021
Verified
659% of Americans believe in hell in 2021
Verified
733% of religiously unaffiliated believe in God
Verified
892% of evangelicals believe in God with certainty
Directional
963% of mainline Protestants believe Satan exists
Single source
1058% of Americans believe Jesus was God incarnate in 2021
Verified
1126% of Americans believe in reincarnation in 2021
Verified
1269% of Black Americans believe in God with certainty
Single source
1380% of white evangelicals oppose abortion in most cases
Single source
1460% of Catholics support legal abortion
Verified
1547% of Americans believe creationism over evolution
Verified
1689% of Latter-day Saints believe the Bible is literal
Directional
1783% of Muslims believe in sharia as divine law
Single source
1868% of Jews believe in afterlife
Verified
1955% of Hindus believe in karma
Directional
2029% of unaffiliated believe in spiritual energy
Verified
2138% of Americans say religion is very important
Directional
2275% of weekly attenders say religion very important
Single source
2311% of nones say religion very important
Verified
2440% of Americans believe angels and demons are active
Directional
2565% of Republicans believe Bible is literal
Verified
2614% of Democrats believe Bible literal
Single source
2750% of Americans under 30 believe in God
Verified
2876% of Americans over 65 believe in God
Verified
2985% of Southerners believe in God with certainty
Verified
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.
Worship Attendance
123% of U.S. adults attended religious services weekly in 2021, down from 36% in 2000
Single source
235% of U.S. Protestants attended church weekly in 2023
Single source
333% of U.S. Catholics attended mass weekly in 2023
Verified
425% of Americans prayed daily in 2021
Single source
549% of evangelicals attended services weekly in 2021
Single source
633% of mainline Protestants attended weekly in 2021
Verified
724% of Catholics attended weekly in 2021
Directional
881% of weekly attenders considered religion very important in 2023
Directional
915% of religiously unaffiliated attended services weekly in 2021
Single source
1037% of Americans read the Bible outside religious services at least monthly in 2021
Verified
1165% of Black Protestants attended weekly in 2021
Single source
1245% of Latter-day Saints attended weekly in 2021
Verified
1339% of Jews attended services monthly or more in 2020
Verified
1442% of Muslims attended mosque weekly in 2017
Verified
1552% of Hindus engaged in daily prayer in 2014
Directional
1662% of Buddhists meditated daily or weekly in 2014
Verified
1720% of Americans attended religious services almost never in 2023
Verified
1858% of Republicans attended weekly or nearly weekly in 2023
Single source
1931% of Democrats attended weekly or nearly weekly in 2023
Verified
2075% of weekly churchgoers are married
Directional
2122% of Gen Z attended monthly or more in 2020
Verified
2238% of Millennials attended monthly or more in 2020
Verified
2348% of U.S. adults feel a deep sense of spiritual peace weekly
Verified
2427% of non-religious Americans feel spiritual peace weekly
Verified
2568% of Southerners attended religious services weekly in 2021
Single source
2620% of Northeasterners attended weekly in 2021
Verified
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.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
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
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pewresearch.org
- Reference 2NEWSnews.gallup.com
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- Reference 3PRRIprri.org
prri.org
- Reference 4NORCnorc.org
norc.org
- Reference 5THEARDAthearda.com
thearda.com
- Reference 6GSSgss.norc.org
gss.norc.org
- Reference 7BARNAbarna.com
barna.com
- Reference 8CARAcara.georgetown.edu
cara.georgetown.edu