While America has long imagined itself a Christian nation, a dramatic religious transformation is underway, as the share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian has plummeted from 78% in 2007 to just 63% today, with the religiously unaffiliated now comprising a staggering 28% of the population.
Key Takeaways
- As of 2023, 63% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, down from 78% in 2007 according to Pew Research
- 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated ("nones") in 2023, up from 16% in 2007 per Pew
- Protestants make up 40% of U.S. adults in 2023, including 14% evangelical, 14% mainline, 11% historically Black per Pew
- 21% of U.S. adults attend religious services weekly or nearly weekly per Gallup 2023
- 32% attend monthly or less, 47% seldom/never per Gallup 2023 poll
- Church membership fell to 47% in 2020 from 70% in 1999 per Gallup
- 81% of Americans believe in God per 2022 Pew survey
- 58% believe God is involved in daily life per Pew 2022
- 33% believe in God as described in the Bible per Pew 2022
- 77% of Americans aged 65+ say religion important vs. 49% under 30 per Pew 2021
- 83% of Black Americans say religion very important per Pew 2021
- 72% of Hispanic Americans per Pew 2021 religious importance
- Christians dropped from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2021 per Pew
- Nones rose from 16% in 2007 to 29% in 2021 per Pew RLS
- Mainline Protestants from 18% to 14% 2007-2021 per Pew
Christianity is declining while religiously unaffiliated Americans are rapidly growing.
Beliefs and Doctrines
- 81% of Americans believe in God per 2022 Pew survey
- 58% believe God is involved in daily life per Pew 2022
- 33% believe in God as described in the Bible per Pew 2022
- 69% believe in heaven per 2023 Gallup
- 59% believe in hell per Gallup 2023 poll
- 56% believe Jesus is God incarnate per Pew 2022
- 46% believe Bible is literal word of God per Gallup 2022
- 26% view Bible as ancient fables per Gallup 2022
- 72% of evangelicals affirm biblical inerrancy per Barna 2023
- 39% believe in Satan as real entity per PRRI 2021
- 41% believe in spiritual energy in objects per Pew 2021
- 31% believe in reincarnation per Pew 2021 afterlife survey
- 65% believe in angels per 2021 PRRI
- 29% of Americans are biblical literalists per Barna 2023
- 55% believe miracles still occur today per Pew 2022
- 80% of Black Protestants believe Bible is word of God per Pew 2021
- 23% of nones believe in God per Pew 2023
- 45% believe human evolution without God per Pew 2022
- 34% reject evolution entirely per Pew 2022 science views
- 62% believe prayer changes outcomes per Barna 2023
- 67% of White evangelicals say religion very important per Pew 2021
Beliefs and Doctrines Interpretation
The data suggests that while a vast majority of Americans are negotiating with a higher power, the terms of that contract—from the nature of divinity to the literalness of scripture—are under constant and often contradictory revision by the faithful.
Demographic Breakdowns
- 77% of Americans aged 65+ say religion important vs. 49% under 30 per Pew 2021
- 83% of Black Americans say religion very important per Pew 2021
- 72% of Hispanic Americans per Pew 2021 religious importance
- 49% of White Americans say religion important per Pew 2021
- Women are 54% more likely to attend services than men per Gallup 2023
- College graduates 31% unaffiliated vs. 23% non-grads per PRRI 2021
- Urban residents 35% nones vs. 24% rural per Pew 2021
- South has 76% Christians vs. 52% Northeast per Pew 2021
- Utah 69% Mormon per PRRI 2021 state data
- Mississippi 86% Christian per Pew regional
- 39% of Gen Z identify as nones per Barna 2022
- Baby Boomers 20% nones vs. Silent Gen 9% per Pew 2021
- Immigrants 25% non-Christian vs. 5% natives per Pew 2021
- Republicans 81% Christian vs. 54% Democrats per PRRI 2021
- Low-income (<$30k) 37% say religion important vs. 45% high-income per Pew
- LGBT adults 42% nones per PRRI 2021
- 55% of veterans religious vs. 48% civilians per VA study 2022
- Farmers 65% attend weekly vs. 20% tech workers per Gallup
- Northeast lowest church membership 35% per Gallup 2020
- Pacific states 34% nones highest per Pew 2021
Demographic Breakdowns Interpretation
While religion in America appears to be graying in the pews, flourishing in the South, and holding strong among Black and Hispanic communities, its future is being reshaped by a younger, more diverse, urban, and educated generation whose spiritual landscape is far less conventionally mapped.
Historical Trends
- Christians dropped from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2021 per Pew
- Nones rose from 16% in 2007 to 29% in 2021 per Pew RLS
- Mainline Protestants from 18% to 14% 2007-2021 per Pew
- Catholic share stable 23% to 20% 2007-2021 Pew data
- Evangelicals steady 25% over decade per PRRI 2021
- Church attendance weekly from 42% in 2000 to 34% 2018 Gallup
- Importance of religion from 70% in 1965 to 53% 2023 Gallup
- Biblical literalism from 65% in 1960s to 20% 2022 Gallup
- Unaffiliated youth from 15% in 1976 to 40% 2021 PRRI
- Non-Christian growth from 4% 2007 to 7% 2021 Pew
- Projections: Christians 54% by 2050, nones 35% per Pew 2023 model
- Decline accelerated post-2010 at 1-2% per year per Pew
- White Christians from 54% 2006 to 44% 2020 PRRI
- Switching faiths: 34% adults changed religion per Pew 2015
- Nones retention 78% vs. Christians 64% per Pew 2014
- Mainline decline 5% per decade since 1990 per ARDA
- Attendance post-COVID down 10% from 2019 per Barna 2023
- Belief in God from 98% 1950s to 81% 2022 Gallup
- Prayer daily stable around 55% over 20 years Pew
- 50 million fewer Christians since 2007 per Pew estimates
Historical Trends Interpretation
While American Christianity appears to be quietly retiring into a more devoted core, its former pews are being enthusiastically repurposed for spiritual DIY and long naps on Sunday mornings.
Religious Affiliation
- As of 2023, 63% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, down from 78% in 2007 according to Pew Research
- 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated ("nones") in 2023, up from 16% in 2007 per Pew
- Protestants make up 40% of U.S. adults in 2023, including 14% evangelical, 14% mainline, 11% historically Black per Pew
- Catholics comprise 19% of U.S. adults as of 2023 Pew survey data
- Jews represent 2% of U.S. adults, Muslims 1%, Buddhists 1%, Hindus 1% in 2023 Pew findings
- Mormons (LDS) account for 1% of U.S. population per 2023 Pew Religious Landscape Study update
- Orthodox Christians are 0.5% of U.S. adults according to 2021 PRRI data
- Jehovah's Witnesses make up 0.8% of U.S. adults per 2021 PRRI Census of American Religion
- Unitarians and other liberal faiths are 0.3% per PRRI 2021
- Native American religions represent 0.2% of U.S. adults in PRRI 2021 survey
- 70% of White Americans identify as Christian per 2022 Gallup poll
- 45% of Black Americans are Protestant per Gallup 2022
- 33% of Hispanic Americans are Catholic per 2022 Gallup data
- 47% of Asian Americans are unaffiliated per Pew 2021
- 65% of adults over 65 identify as Christian vs. 46% under 30 per Pew 2021
- Evangelicals are 25% of U.S. adults per 2023 Lifeway Research
- Mainline Protestants declined to 14% in 2020 per PRRI
- Historically Black Protestants stable at 7% per Pew 2021
- Non-Christian faiths total 6% per Pew 2023 model
- Atheists are 4% of U.S. adults, agnostics 5% per Pew 2021
- Nothing in particular (nones) are 19% per 2023 Pew
- Southern Baptists are 5.3% of U.S. population per 2020 US Religion Census
- Non-denominational Christians are 6-9% per ARDA 2020
- Assemblies of God Pentecostal group is 1.2% per US Religion Census 2020
- Episcopal Church members 0.6% per ARDA data
- Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod 0.9% per 2020 census
- Presbyterian Church (USA) 0.7% per ARDA
- United Methodist Church 2.1% per US Religion Census 2020
Religious Affiliation Interpretation
While the pews may be emptying, America's religious landscape is not so much a grand cathedral crumbling as it is a busy marketplace where the Christian majority is becoming a less-crowded booth, the "none" section is having a banner year, and countless other faiths are operating vibrant, if smaller, stalls.
Religious Attendance and Practices
- 21% of U.S. adults attend religious services weekly or nearly weekly per Gallup 2023
- 32% attend monthly or less, 47% seldom/never per Gallup 2023 poll
- Church membership fell to 47% in 2020 from 70% in 1999 per Gallup
- 36% of Protestants attend weekly vs. 33% Catholics per Pew 2019
- Evangelicals attend at 58% weekly rate per 2021 Barna Group
- 25% of Catholics attend Mass weekly per CARA 2022
- Prayer daily by 55% of Americans per 2022 Pew
- Bible reading weekly by 39% per Barna 2023 State of the Bible
- 49% of Black Protestants attend weekly per Pew 2021
- 20% of religiously unaffiliated attend services occasionally per Pew 2021
- Volunteering at church by 28% of weekly attenders per 2023 Lifeway
- Tithing or giving 10% by 12% of Christians per Barna 2022
- Meditation or spiritual practices by 42% nones per Pew 2021
- Home worship increased to 33% during COVID per PRRI 2021
- Online services attended by 25% regularly post-COVID per Barna 2022
- Small group participation by 20% of churchgoers per Lifeway 2023
- Fasting practiced by 24% of evangelicals annually per Barna
- 75% of weekly attenders feel closer to God per Gallup 2023
- Youth group attendance by 40% of teens per Barna 2022
- Holiday service attendance spikes to 50% at Christmas per Lifeway
Religious Attendance and Practices Interpretation
While the American religious landscape is certainly not a ghost town, the latest statistics paint a picture of a devout but shrinking core of weekly congregants, a growing population of spiritual freelancers, and a general trend where private belief increasingly outpaces public practice.
Sources & References
- Reference 1PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 2PRRIprri.orgVisit source
- Reference 3NEWSnews.gallup.comVisit source
- Reference 4LIFEWAYRESEARCHlifewayresearch.comVisit source
- Reference 5USRELIGIONCENSUSusreligioncensus.orgVisit source
- Reference 6THEARDAthearda.comVisit source
- Reference 7BARNAbarna.comVisit source
- Reference 8CARAcara.georgetown.eduVisit source
- Reference 9VAva.govVisit source