Church membership dropped from 70 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2020. Evangelical Protestants now make up 14 percent of the population, and the divorce filing rate keeps rising. By 2020, 40 percent of children were born to unmarried mothers, linking religious and family trends to broader social outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- Church membership fell from 70% in 2000 to 47% in 2020
- No religious affiliation "nones" up to 29% in 2021
- Protestant share down from 51% in 2007 to 43% 2021
- US divorce rate rose from 9.2 per 1,000 married women in 1960 to 22.6 in 1980
- By 2020, 40% of US children born to unmarried mothers
- Single-parent households increased from 9% in 1960 to 26% in 2020
- US violent crime rate surged 30% from 2019 to 2022
- Homicide rate increased 41% from 2019 to 2021
- Murder rate up 64% in 50 largest cities 2019-2022
- Abortion rate 11.0 per 1,000 women 15-44 in 2021
- 930,160 abortions reported in 2020
- Teen pregnancy rate 13.5 per 1,000 2019
- Drug overdose deaths reached 109,680 in 2023
- Opioid prescriptions down 60% but deaths up 300% since 1999
- Fentanyl involved in 68% of overdose deaths 2022
Church membership and faith are steadily declining while “nones,” crime, family instability, and moral relativism rise.
Related reading
01 · Category
Erosion of Religious Faith25 stats
01
Church membership fell from 70% in 2000 to 47% in 2020
02
No religious affiliation "nones" up to 29% in 2021
03
Protestant share down from 51% in 2007 to 43% 2021
04
Catholic attendance weekly down to 17% in 2022
05
Bible familiarity: 50% read little/none yearly
06
Prayer daily down to 49% adults 2021
07
Belief in God steady at 81% but down from 98% 1960s
08
Young adults religious service attendance 20% monthly
09
Atheist/agnostic up to 10% 2023
10
Evangelical Protestants down to 14% population
11
Mainline Protestants halved since 2007 to 14%
12
Synagogue membership down 70% since 1970
13
Mormon retention down to 64% young adults
14
Religious "nones" projected 34% by 2050
15
Christmas/Easter "C&E" Christians 30%
16
Belief in hell down to 59% 2022
17
Salvation by faith alone 46% Protestants
18
Clergy sex abuse scandals affected 5% US Catholics
19
Seminary enrollment down 40% since 1990
20
source url: https://www.ecfa.org/ , Vocation to priesthood down 80% since 1965
21
Youth group retention post-high school 30%
22
Moral relativism: 65% say right/wrong depends 2020
23
Forgiveness belief down to 65% young adults
24
Hell belief among youth 32%
25
Trust in religious leaders down to 36% 2023
Interpretation
Erosion of Religious Faith Interpretation
It seems we've kept the faith but lost the instruction manual, trading pews for personal philosophies while still hoping someone's upstairs.
02 · Category
Family Structure Decline30 stats
01
US divorce rate rose from 9.2 per 1,000 married women in 1960 to 22.6 in 1980
02
By 2020, 40% of US children born to unmarried mothers
03
Single-parent households increased from 9% in 1960 to 26% in 2020
04
Marriage rate declined from 72% of adults in 1960 to 50% in 2019
05
Cohabitation before marriage rose from 11% in 1960s to 59% in 2019
06
Children in father-absent homes 4 times more likely to live in poverty
07
63% of youth suicides from fatherless homes
08
85% of youth in prison from fatherless homes
09
71% of high school dropouts from fatherless homes
10
US fertility rate dropped to 1.64 births per woman in 2020, below replacement
11
23% of US children live with single mother only in 2022
12
Interracial marriages increased from 3% in 1967 to 17% in 2015
13
Average age at first marriage rose to 28 for women, 30 for men in 2020
14
50% of first marriages end in divorce within 20 years
15
Remarriage rate after divorce fell to 52% for women by 2013
16
40% of cohabiting couples break up within 3 years
17
Births to unmarried women rose from 5% in 1960 to 40% in 2019
18
Multigenerational households up 271% since 1971 to 18% in 2021
19
Teen birth rate declined but still 16.7 per 1,000 in 2020
20
Childfree adults rose from 10% in 1976 to 22% in 2021
21
35% of young adults 25-34 live with parents in 2021
22
Nuclear family households down from 40% in 1970 to 18% in 2020
23
25% of children experience family instability by age 9
24
Serial cohabitation linked to 40% higher divorce risk
25
60% of second marriages end in divorce
26
Father involvement down 20% since 1960s
27
48% of US adults under 30 never married in 2021
28
Live births to women 40+ up 523% since 1980
29
33% of millennials expect never to marry
30
Family dinners down from 5/week in 1990 to 3/week in 2015
Interpretation
Family Structure Decline Interpretation
The statistics paint a portrait of a nation that has valiantly traded the rigid, often stifling, structure of the traditional family for a new freedom, only to find itself uneasily counting the costs in the broken pieces it left behind.
03 · Category
Rise in Crime30 stats
01
US violent crime rate surged 30% from 2019 to 2022
02
Homicide rate increased 41% from 2019 to 2021
03
Murder rate up 64% in 50 largest cities 2019-2022
04
Aggravated assault rose 12% in 2022
05
Robbery incidents up 5.7% in 2022
06
Carjackings in DC up 125% in 2023
07
Shoplifting in CA up 39% post-Prop 47
08
Transit crime in NYC up 45% in 2022
09
Youth gun homicides tripled 2019-2022
10
Police killings of unarmed suspects down but overall shootings up
11
Rape reports up 25% since 2013
12
Domestic violence calls surged 35% during pandemic
13
Gang-related homicides 13% of total in 2021
14
Flash mob robberies increased 20% in major cities 2022
15
Hate crimes up 11.6% in 2021
16
Arson incidents rose 8% in 2022
17
Burglary down long-term but up 7% post-2020
18
Juvenile arrests for violent crime up 20% 2021
19
Mass shootings hit record 647 in 2022
20
Police response times doubled in some cities 2020-2023
21
Unreported crimes estimated at 50% of total
22
Cybercrime losses $10.3 billion in 2022
23
Human trafficking reports up 20% yearly
24
Stalking victimization 7.5 million adults yearly
25
Elder abuse reports doubled since 2010
26
School shootings up 300% since 2018
27
US homicide victimization rate 7.8 per 100k 2022
28
Property crime clearance rate 12.1% 2022
29
Violent crime victimization 23.5 per 1,000 2022
30
Retail theft losses $112B yearly
Interpretation
Rise in Crime Interpretation
If you're reading these sobering statistics while waiting for a police response that feels increasingly theoretical, you might suspect our social fabric isn't just fraying but actively being unstitched at the seams.
04 · Category
Sexual and Reproductive Trends23 stats
01
Abortion rate 11.0 per 1,000 women 15-44 in 2021
02
930,160 abortions reported in 2020
03
Teen pregnancy rate 13.5 per 1,000 2019
04
STD rates: Chlamydia 539 cases per 100k 2021
05
Gonorrhea up to 215 per 100k in 2021
06
Syphilis cases tripled 2017-2021 to 176k
07
Congenital syphilis up 154% 2018-2022
08
HPV vaccine coverage only 59% for teens
09
1 in 5 Americans has an STD
10
Pornography consumption: 69% men, 40% women monthly
11
Average age first porn exposure 11 years
12
Sex before marriage 95% of Americans
13
LGBTQ identification up to 7.1% adults 2022
14
Teen condom use down to 54% 2021
15
Unintended pregnancies 45% of total
16
HIV diagnoses 36,547 in 2021
17
Oral contraceptive use 14% women 15-49
18
Same-sex marriage support 71% 2023
19
Gender dysphoria diagnoses up 4,000% in youth
20
Transgender identification 1.6% Gen Z
21
Sexting among teens 40-50% prevalence
22
Divorce filings cite infidelity 20-40%
23
OnlyFans creators 3 million, mostly US
Interpretation
Sexual and Reproductive Trends Interpretation
We seem to have become a culture so fixated on the personal right to define our own intimacy that we’ve completely neglected the collective responsibility to define what, if anything, is sacred about it.
05 · Category
Substance Abuse Epidemic21 stats
01
Drug overdose deaths reached 109,680 in 2023
02
Opioid prescriptions down 60% but deaths up 300% since 1999
03
Fentanyl involved in 68% of overdose deaths 2022
04
Methamphetamine use up 50% among adults 2015-2019
05
Alcohol deaths up 30% from 2016-2019
06
Youth vaping tripled 2017-2019 to 28% high schoolers
07
Cocaine overdose deaths quadrupled 2010-2021
08
40 million Americans 12+ used illicit drugs past year 2022
09
Binge drinking 25% of adults monthly
10
Heroin use steady but deaths up 4x since 2010
11
Synthetic cannabinoids deaths up 779% 2010-2019
12
92,000 alcohol-related deaths yearly pre-pandemic
13
Polysubstance overdoses 90% of fentanyl deaths
14
Neonatal abstinence syndrome cases up 4x 2010-2017
15
Adult cannabis use up to 18% in 2022
16
Drunk driving deaths 13,384 in 2021
17
Opioid use disorder 6 million Americans 2021
18
Stimulant overdoses tripled 2015-2021
19
Homelessness linked to substance abuse in 38% cases
20
Youth alcohol use 29% past month 2022
21
Benzodiazepine overdoses up 4x 2002-2019
Interpretation
Substance Abuse Epidemic Interpretation
America's medicine cabinet may finally be locking up the pills, but we've tragically unlocked a Pandora's box of more potent and varied poisons, proving that addiction is a shapeshifting beast far more cunning than any single policy.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). Americas Moral Decline Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/americas-moral-decline-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "Americas Moral Decline Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/americas-moral-decline-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "Americas Moral Decline Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/americas-moral-decline-statistics.
Sources & references
50 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level