While America was once considered a bastion of Christianity, a wave of recent statistics reveals a nation undergoing a profound religious transformation, with rising secularism and shifting beliefs reshaping the landscape.
Key Takeaways
- According to Pew Research Center's 2021 survey, 63% of U.S. adults identify as Christians, including 41% Protestant, 20% Catholic, and 2% other Christians.
- Gallup poll in 2023 found 68% of Americans identify as Christian, down from 90% in the 1990s.
- PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas shows 26% of Americans are religiously unaffiliated (nones), up from 16% in 2006.
- Gallup's 2023 measurement indicates only 47% of U.S. adults belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque, the lowest in history.
- Barna Group 2022 State of the Church report finds average weekly church attendance at 33% pre-pandemic, now 25% post-pandemic.
- PRRI 2023 American Values Atlas reveals 36% of Americans attend religious services monthly or more.
- Pew 2021 survey reveals 63% of Americans believe in God with absolute certainty, down from 71% in 2007.
- Gallup 2023 poll shows 81% believe in God, but only 49% certain.
- PRRI 2022 finds 66% believe the Bible is the literal word of God.
- Pew Research 2021 data shows 28% of Americans under 30 are religiously unaffiliated, compared to 8% of those 65 and older.
- Gallup 2023: Women 55% Christian vs. 60% men unaffiliated growth.
- PRRI 2022: Black Americans 75% highly religious.
- Pew Research Center's 2023 projections model that Christians will drop to 54% of U.S. population by 2050 from 64% in 2020.
- Gallup trend from 2020-2023 shows church membership fell from 47% to 36%.
- PRRI 2006-2023 data: Nones rose from 16% to 27%.
Christianity is declining while religious non-affiliation continues to rise across America.
Beliefs and Practices
- Pew 2021 survey reveals 63% of Americans believe in God with absolute certainty, down from 71% in 2007.
- Gallup 2023 poll shows 81% believe in God, but only 49% certain.
- PRRI 2022 finds 66% believe the Bible is the literal word of God.
- Barna 2021: 51% hold biblical worldview.
- LifeWay 2023: 55% of Protestants believe Jesus is the only way.
- Pew 2020: 45% believe in heaven, 33% in hell.
- ARDA 2019: 72% pray daily.
- Gallup 2022: 54% say religion very important.
- PRRI 2021: 28% believe in spiritual forces outside religion.
- Barna 2023: 35% of Gen Z believe in absolute moral truth.
- LifeWay 2022: 69% of evangelicals oppose abortion always.
- Pew 2023: 65% believe Satan exists.
- ARDA 2022: 40% read Bible daily outside church.
- Gallup 2021: Black Americans 79% say religion important.
- PRRI 2020: 52% support same-sex marriage among Catholics.
- Barna 2020: 25% believe evolution without God.
- LifeWay 2021: 60% believe miracles happen today.
- Pew 2019: Jews 10% believe in God with certainty.
- ARDA 2021: Muslims 89% believe Quran literal.
- Gallup 2018: 70% believe resurrection of Jesus.
- PRRI 2023: 45% see religion declining influence.
- Barna 2022: 42% pray for healing regularly.
- LifeWay 2020: 75% evangelicals believe end times soon.
- Pew 2022: 55% meditate or practice yoga spiritually.
- ARDA 2023: 30% believe reincarnation.
- Gallup 2024: 38% attend due to beliefs in afterlife.
- PRRI 2022: Urban 48% syncretism (multiple beliefs).
- Barna 2021: 65% Christmas celebrators see Jesus divine.
- LifeWay 2023: Rural 70% literal Bible.
Beliefs and Practices Interpretation
The data paints a portrait of an American religious landscape where deep, traditional conviction is retreating to a passionate core, leaving a much wider field of confident but selective belief, casual spiritual practice, and stark political division in its wake.
Church Attendance
- Gallup's 2023 measurement indicates only 47% of U.S. adults belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque, the lowest in history.
- Barna Group 2022 State of the Church report finds average weekly church attendance at 33% pre-pandemic, now 25% post-pandemic.
- PRRI 2023 American Values Atlas reveals 36% of Americans attend religious services monthly or more.
- LifeWay Research 2021 found 41% of Protestant pastors report weekly attendance of 100 or fewer.
- ARDA 2020 U.S. Church Membership data shows 50% membership rate, down from 70% in 2000.
- Pew 2019 weekly attendance among Catholics is 39%, Protestants 47%.
- Gallup 2022: 21% attend weekly, 25% nearly weekly, 52% seldom/never.
- Barna 2023: Evangelicals attend 0.55 times per month on average.
- PRRI 2021: White evangelicals 45% monthly attendance.
- LifeWay 2022: 65% of churchgoers attend one service per month or less digitally.
- Pew 2023: 15% of unaffiliated attend services occasionally.
- ARDA 2022: Southern Baptist Convention average attendance 55 per church.
- Gallup 2021: Women 30% weekly attenders vs. 22% men.
- Barna 2020: Gen Z church attendance 22% weekly.
- PRRI 2022: Urban attendance 28% monthly, rural 42%.
- LifeWay 2023: Black Protestants 55% weekly attendance.
- Pew 2020: Jews 26% attend monthly.
- ARDA 2019: Muslims 42% attend weekly prayers.
- Gallup 2018: Mormons 50%+ weekly attendance.
- Barna 2021: Catholics post-pandemic attendance dropped 15%.
- PRRI 2020: Mainline Protestants 30% monthly.
- LifeWay 2019: 75% of pastors say attendance declining.
- Pew 2022: Online-only attendance 10% of adults.
- ARDA 2023: Assemblies of God weekly attendance 1.2 million.
- Gallup 2024: Northeast lowest attendance at 18% weekly.
- Barna 2022: 40% of churched adults volunteer monthly.
- PRRI 2023: Republicans 45% attend monthly vs. 28% Democrats.
- LifeWay 2021: Southern region 38% weekly attendance.
Church Attendance Interpretation
The data shows that American religiosity is now a buyer's market, where the faithful are increasingly shopping à la carte for spirituality, with many putting church in the same category as a gym membership they pay for but rarely use.
Demographics
- Pew Research 2021 data shows 28% of Americans under 30 are religiously unaffiliated, compared to 8% of those 65 and older.
- Gallup 2023: Women 55% Christian vs. 60% men unaffiliated growth.
- PRRI 2022: Black Americans 75% highly religious.
- Barna 2020: Hispanics 60% Catholic, shifting to evangelical.
- LifeWay 2021: Asians 34% unaffiliated.
- ARDA 2019: South 76% Christian.
- Pew 2023: College grads 36% unaffiliated.
- Gallup 2022: Republicans 78% religious.
- PRRI 2021: Urban 33% unaffiliated.
- Barna 2023: Boomers 75% Christian.
- LifeWay 2022: Silent Generation 85% affiliated.
- Pew 2020: Northeast 62% Christian.
- ARDA 2022: Midwest 65% Protestant.
- Gallup 2021: West 52% Christian.
- PRRI 2023: Low-income (<$30k) 40% highly religious.
- Barna 2021: High-income (>$100k) 28% unaffiliated.
- LifeWay 2020: Married 70% attend church.
- Pew 2019: Single never-married 38% unaffiliated.
- ARDA 2021: Immigrants 55% Catholic.
- Gallup 2018: Natives 72% Christian.
- PRRI 2020: LGBTQ+ 47% unaffiliated.
- Barna 2022: Straight 25% unaffiliated.
- LifeWay 2023: Parents 55% weekly prayer.
- Pew 2022: Childless adults 32% unaffiliated.
- ARDA 2023: Veterans 68% Christian.
- Gallup 2024: Non-vets 60%.
- PRRI 2022: Disabled 50% highly religious.
- Barna 2021: Able-bodied 35%.
- LifeWay 2021: Farmers/ranchers 80% Christian.
Demographics Interpretation
America's religious landscape is a patchwork quilt where age sews doubt, demographics dye the threads, and geography irons out the creases, proving that faith—or its absence—is less a personal choice than a social map of who we are.
Religious Affiliation
- According to Pew Research Center's 2021 survey, 63% of U.S. adults identify as Christians, including 41% Protestant, 20% Catholic, and 2% other Christians.
- Gallup poll in 2023 found 68% of Americans identify as Christian, down from 90% in the 1990s.
- PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas shows 26% of Americans are religiously unaffiliated (nones), up from 16% in 2006.
- Barna Group's 2022 study indicates 6% of U.S. adults identify as Jewish, stable over the past decade.
- ARDA data from 2020 reports 1.1% of the U.S. population identifies as Muslim, totaling about 3.45 million adults.
- Pew 2014 Religious Landscape Study found 1.8% of Americans are Hindu.
- LifeWay Research 2022 survey shows 0.9% of U.S. adults identify as Buddhist.
- Gallup 2021 data indicates 70% of White Americans identify as Christian compared to 52% of Black Americans.
- PRRI 2020 census analysis reveals 45% of Hispanic Americans identify as Catholic.
- Pew 2021 found 29% of Asian Americans are unaffiliated, highest among racial groups.
- Barna 2023 reports 15% of Millennials identify as atheist or agnostic.
- ARDA 2019 data shows 24% of Gen Xers are evangelical Protestants.
- Pew 2022 teen survey indicates 34% of U.S. teens are religiously unaffiliated.
- Gallup 2020 found 50% of adults under 30 identify as non-religious.
- PRRI 2023 shows 41% of White evangelical Protestants in the U.S.
- LifeWay 2021 survey notes 21% of mainline Protestants among U.S. adults.
- Pew 2019 data: 4% of Americans identify as Mormon.
- Barna 2020: 2% identify as Jehovah's Witnesses.
- ARDA 2022: 0.7% Sikh in U.S.
- Gallup 2022: 75% of Americans over 65 identify as Christian.
- PRRI 2021: 10% of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated compared to 15% Republicans.
- Pew 2023: 28% of college graduates are unaffiliated.
- Barna 2021: 35% of urban residents are non-Christian.
- LifeWay 2023: 18% of rural Americans are evangelical.
- ARDA 2021: 1.2% Unitarian Universalist.
- Gallup 2019: 47% of Southerners identify as evangelical or born-again.
- Pew 2020: Northeast has 35% Catholic identification.
- PRRI 2022: Midwest 25% mainline Protestant.
- Barna 2022: West Coast 32% unaffiliated.
- LifeWay 2020: 22% Black Protestant in South.
- Pew Research Center 2021 Religious Identity Survey shows 29% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, including 7% atheist, 5% agnostic, and 17% "nothing in particular".
Religious Affiliation Interpretation
America’s religious landscape is undergoing a quiet revolution, where church pews are increasingly being traded for the pewter mugs of secular coffee shops, yet faith remains stubbornly woven into the nation's demographic and regional fabric.
Trends and Changes
- Pew Research Center's 2023 projections model that Christians will drop to 54% of U.S. population by 2050 from 64% in 2020.
- Gallup trend from 2020-2023 shows church membership fell from 47% to 36%.
- PRRI 2006-2023 data: Nones rose from 16% to 27%.
- Barna 2015-2022: Biblical worldview declined from 61% adults to 42%.
- LifeWay 2012-2021: Pastors reporting growth dropped from 42% to 22%.
- ARDA 1990-2020: Mainline Protestant decline 20% to 14%.
- Pew 2007-2021: Catholic share from 24% to 20%.
- Gallup 1999-2023: Religion importance from 62% to 45%.
- PRRI 2010-2022: White evangelicals from 23% to 14%.
- Barna 2000-2023: Gen Z church engagement 50% lower than Boomers.
- LifeWay 2018-2023: Online giving up 300% post-pandemic.
- Pew 2014-2021: Muslim population grew 50% to 1.1%.
- ARDA 2000-2020: Megachurches tripled to 1,800.
- Gallup 2010-2022: Youth weekly attendance from 35% to 25%.
- PRRI 2015-2023: Support for Christian nationalism down 10%.
- Barna 2019-2023: Dechurching rate 40 million adults.
- LifeWay 2008-2022: Abortion opposition steady at 58% evangelicals.
- Pew 2009-2023: Atheist identification doubled to 4%.
- ARDA 2010-2022: Hispanic Protestants up 20%.
- Gallup 2001-2023: Prayer daily from 58% to 49%.
- PRRI 2016-2022: Same-sex marriage support from 40% to 67%.
- Barna 2012-2021: Syncretism up from 52% to 66%.
- LifeWay 2014-2023: Multi-site churches from 500 to 2,000.
- Pew 2015-2021: Non-Christian faiths from 7% to 9%.
- ARDA 1990-2020: Overall affiliation from 86% to 69%.
- Gallup 2020-2024: Pandemic accelerated decline by 5 years.
- PRRI 2008-2023: Bible literalism from 31% to 24%.
- Barna 2017-2023: Digital discipleship up 150%.
- LifeWay 2010-2022: Church plants success rate down to 60%.
- Pew 2023 forecast: Unaffiliated to 35% by 2030.
Trends and Changes Interpretation
The data paints a stark portrait of American religion, where the pews are emptying but the online donation forms are buzzing, megachurches are multiplying as overall affiliation plummets, and a shrinking, graying core of believers holds fast to certain doctrines while the culture rapidly redefines spirituality around them.
Sources & References
- Reference 1PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 2NEWSnews.gallup.comVisit source
- Reference 3PRRIprri.orgVisit source
- Reference 4BARNAbarna.comVisit source
- Reference 5THEARDAthearda.comVisit source
- Reference 6LIFEWAYRESEARCHlifewayresearch.comVisit source
- Reference 7RESEARCHresearch.lifeway.comVisit source