This is roughly on par with what we found in the 2014 RLS, using the same definition of switching. At that time, 34% of Americans were categorized as having switched religions when Protestantism was treated as a single group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(By this definition, religious switchers would include \u2013 to give just a few examples \u2013 a person who was raised Protestant and is now religiously unaffiliated; a person who was raised Catholic and now identifies as any kind of Protestant; a person who was raised in no religion but now identifies as Jewish; and a person who was raised as an Orthodox Christian and now identifies as a Catholic. However, a person who was raised as a United Methodist and now identifies as a Southern Baptist would not be considered to have switched religions, because both of those denominations are Protestant. Similarly, a person who was raised with no particular religion and now identifies as an atheist would not be counted as having switched, because both of those categories are part of the religiously unaffiliated grouping.[34. numoffset=”34″ Findings about switching among religious groups vary depending on how the groups are defined. For example, another way to calculate movement among religious groups would be to treat each Protestant denominational family (such as Baptists, Presbyterians and Lutherans) as a separate group and also to disaggregate religiously unaffiliated Americans into three separate categories (atheists, agnostics and those whose religion is \u201cnothing in particular\u201d). Under those parameters, the share of Americans in the new survey who have switched religions between childhood and adulthood is 49%. In 2014, the comparable figure was 48%.])<\/p>\n\n\n\n The overall patterns of religious switching in the 2023-24 RLS are similar to the patterns that appeared in the previous landscape studies. Christianity, as a whole, continues to lose more adherents than it gains through switching: For every American who has become Christian after having been raised in another religion or no religion, six others have left Christianity and now describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, as belonging to another \u2013 i.e., non-Christian \u2013 religion, or they don\u2019t answer the question about their current religion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Protestantism and Catholicism experience net loss from switching. In the 2023-24 RLS, 1.8 people have left Protestantism for every person who has become a Protestant after having been raised in another religious group or in no religion. The ratio for Catholicism is even more lopsided: For every U.S. adult who has become a Catholic after being raised in some other religion or without a religion, there are 8.4 adults who say they were raised in the Catholic faith but who no longer describe themselves as Catholics.[35. At the same time, immigration has helped to bolster the number of Catholics in the United States. Overall, Catholics have declined from 24% of U.S. adults in 2007 to 19% in the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS), while the Protestant share of the country\u2019s adult population has dropped from 51% to 40% over the same period. For more on these trends, read the Overview<\/a> of this report.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pew Research Center uses the term \u201creligious switching\u201d rather than \u201cconversion\u201d to reflect the fact that movement occurs in all directions and is not necessarily accompanied by any rituals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The category that has grown the most through religious switching is the religiously unaffiliated population. This group is sometimes called the \u201cnones\u201d and is made up of Americans who answer a question about their present religion by saying they are atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular.\u201d For every person who was raised as a \u201cnone\u201d and now identifies with a religion, 5.9 people have switched away from their childhood religion and no longer identify with any religion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This chapter details the religious switching among U.S. religious groups. We show both sides of the equation: how many U.S. adults have entered<\/em> and left<\/em> each group. We also show the retention rates of the large groups: what percentage of all people raised in a religious group as children remain in it as adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, this chapter explores a pair of questions asking respondents to evaluate, in broad terms, how they have changed religiously and spiritually as they have aged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked how their religiousness<\/em> has changed, 28% of Americans say they have become more religious, while roughly the same share \u2013 29% \u2013 say they have become less religious. The remainder describe their religiousness as unchanged (21%), say they have sometimes grown more religious and other times less so (21%), or they decline to answer the question (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked how their spirituality<\/em> has shifted over the course of their lifetimes, more U.S. adults say it has increased (43%) than decreased (11%). The remainder say their level of spirituality has stayed about the same (22%), indicate that it has sometimes risen and sometimes fallen (23%), or they give no answer (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jump to sections on:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Religiously unaffiliated Americans have experienced the greatest net gains, as a share of the U.S population, through religious switching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among all U.S. adults, 12.6% say they were raised with no religious affiliation (as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular\u201d). About a quarter of that group \u2013 3.5% of all U.S. adults \u2013 no longer identify as religious \u201cnones.\u201d Instead, they now identify with a religion (or, in a small number of cases, decline to answer the religion question). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the share of people who have joined the ranks of the \u201cnones\u201d is nearly six times larger: 20.2% of all U.S. adults were raised in a religion and now identify as religiously unaffiliated.[36. This includes 0.2% of U.S. adults who now identify as religious \u201cnones\u201d and who declined to answer the question about their childhood religion.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n The picture is reversed for Christianity. Overall, 21.9% of U.S. adults are former<\/em> Christians \u2013 people who say they were raised as Christians but no longer identify as such. That\u2019s six times higher than the share of U.S. adults who now identify as Christians after having been raised in some other way (3.6%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Catholics have experienced the greatest net losses due to switching. About three-in-ten U.S. adults (30.2%) say they were raised Catholic. But 43% of the people raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholic, meaning that 12.8% of all U.S. adults are former <\/em>Catholics. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ledger, 1.5% of U.S. adults have become<\/em> Catholics after being raised another way. Overall, 18.9% of U.S. adults currently identify as Catholics, according to the new RLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protestantism also has lost more people than it has gained through religious switching. Overall, 13.7% of U.S. adults say they no longer identify with the group after having been raised as Protestants, compared with 7.6% of Americans who were not raised Protestant but now identify as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We found similar religious switching patterns in our 2014 Religious Landscape Study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To put some of these percentages in context, there were approximately 262 million adults (ages 18 and older) in the United States in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several Protestant denominational families have lost more people than they have gained through religious switching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, 7.5% of U.S. adults say they were raised Baptist but no longer identify as Baptist, compared with 3.3% of U.S. adults who were not raised Baptist but who now identify with the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nondenominational Protestants are an exception to this pattern. While 1.7% of U.S. adults say they were raised as nondenominational Protestants and no longer identify as such, more than three times as many now describe themselves as nondenominal Protestants after having been raised another way (5.7%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were similar patterns in Protestant denominational switching in the 2014 RLS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The previous analysis in this chapter looked at the shares of all U.S. adults who say they were raised in various religious groups, what percentages have left each group, and what percentages have joined each group after having been raised in some other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way to examine the data is by looking at \u201cretention rates.\u201d Among the people raised in a particular religious group, what percentage continue to identify with that group as adults?<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least three-quarters of Americans who were raised Hindu (82%), Muslim (77%) and Jewish (76%) still identify with those religious groups in adulthood. Among people raised as Hindus, 11% are religious \u201cnones\u201d today, as are 13% of those raised Muslim and 17% of those raised Jewish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seven-in-ten adults who were raised Protestant still identity as Protestant as adults, while 22% of people raised as Protestants say they are now religiously unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among people who were raised Catholic, 57% still identify as such as adults. About a quarter of people who were raised Catholic now say they are religiously unaffiliated (24%), and 14% of people raised as Catholics identify as Protestant today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly three-quarters of those raised religiously unaffiliated (73%) have remained religious \u201cnones\u201d as adults. Most of those who were raised as \u201cnones\u201d but have since changed affiliations now identify as Protestants (17%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The retention rate among religious \u201cnones\u201d in the 2023-24 RLS is significantly higher than it was in the 2014 RLS<\/a>. At that time, 53% of Americans who were raised without a religious affiliation continued to identify as unaffiliated in adulthood. The share of people raised as \u201cnones\u201d who say they are still \u201cnones\u201d has gone up across all age categories since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, the retention rate of those raised as \u201cnones\u201d is higher among younger adults than it is among older people. For instance, among adults born between 2000 and 2006 (who were between the ages of 18 and 24 when the 2023-24 survey was conducted), 79% of those raised as \u201cnones\u201d are still religiously unaffiliated today, as are 80% among people born in the 1990s who were raised as \u201cnones.\u201d By comparison, among those born in the 1960s who were raised as \u201cnones,\u201d 61% are still \u201cnones\u201d today, as are 60% of people born in the 1950s who were raised as \u201cnones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals and nondenominational Protestants have among the highest retention rates of Protestant denominational families in the 2023-24 RLS. More than half of Americans who were raised Baptist (54%) still identify as Baptists as adults; 47% raised Lutheran still identify as Lutherans; and 45% raised Pentecostal or nondenominational still identify that way as adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among all U.S. adults who were raised Protestant, 44% still identify with the same denominational family as they did as children, while 26% identify with a different one. An additional 22% are religiously unaffiliated, 2% identify as Catholic, and 4% identify with another religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About eight-in-ten Americans say their religiousness has shifted during their lifetimes, including 28% who say they have become more religious, 29% who say they have become less religious, and 21% who say their religiousness has fluctuated, sometimes increasing and other times decreasing. About one-in-five (21%) say their religiousness has stayed about the same over the course of their lives.[37. We first asked this question in a 2023 survey of U.S. adults<\/a>. In that survey, respondents were slightly less likely to say their religiousness had increased<\/em> and slightly more likely to say their religiousness had decreased<\/em> over the course of their lives.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evangelical Protestants (50%); people who identify with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are widely known as Mormons (48%); and members of historically Black Protestant churches (46%) are especially likely to say they have become more religious during their lifetimes. Religiously unaffiliated adults are the most likely group to say they have become less religious (54%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a parallel question about spiritual change, 43% of Americans say they have generally become more spiritual during their lifetimes, while 11% say they have become less so. An additional 23% say they sometimes have grown more spiritual, other times less so. And 22% say their level of spirituality has stayed about the same.[38. We first asked this question in a 2023 survey of U.S. adults<\/a> and found that Americans reported similar levels of spiritual shifting.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n About six-in-ten members of evangelical Protestant (61%) and historically Black Protestant (58%) denominations say they have become more spiritual over their lifetimes. A similar share of Latter-day Saints say this (58%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The survey finds that 43% of mainline Protestants, 42% of Muslims, 42% of Buddhists, 41% of Catholics and 40% of Hindus say they have grown more spiritual over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About a third of Jews (34%) and 27% of religiously unaffiliated adults say they have become more spiritual over the course of their lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of Americans have switched religions over the course of their lives, and most say their religiousness or spirituality has generally shifted too. 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summary","slug":"religious-landscape-study-executive-summary","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-executive-summary\/","is_active":false},{"id":198574,"title":"1. Religious identity","slug":"religious-landscape-study-religious-identity","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-religious-identity\/","is_active":false},{"id":198579,"title":"2. Religious switching","slug":"religious-switching","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-switching\/","is_active":true},{"id":198584,"title":"3. Identifying with a religion because of culture, ethnicity or family background","slug":"identifying-with-a-religion-because-of-culture-ethnicity-or-family-background","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/identifying-with-a-religion-because-of-culture-ethnicity-or-family-background\/","is_active":false},{"id":198589,"title":"4. Religious intermarriage","slug":"religious-intermarriage","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-intermarriage\/","is_active":false},{"id":198594,"title":"5. Religious upbringing and childhood education","slug":"religious-upbringing-and-childhood-education","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-upbringing-and-childhood-education\/","is_active":false},{"id":198600,"title":"6. Religion, fertility and child-rearing","slug":"religion-fertility-and-child-rearing","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-fertility-and-child-rearing\/","is_active":false},{"id":198605,"title":"7. Importance of religion and the Bible","slug":"importance-of-religion-and-the-bible","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/importance-of-religion-and-the-bible\/","is_active":false},{"id":198610,"title":"8. Religious attendance and congregational involvement","slug":"religious-attendance-and-congregational-involvement","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-attendance-and-congregational-involvement\/","is_active":false},{"id":198615,"title":"9. Race and ethnicity in religious congregations","slug":"race-and-ethnicity-in-religious-congregations","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/race-and-ethnicity-in-religious-congregations\/","is_active":false},{"id":198620,"title":"10. Prayer and other religious practices","slug":"prayer-and-other-religious-practices","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/prayer-and-other-religious-practices\/","is_active":false},{"id":198624,"title":"11. Religious and spiritual beliefs","slug":"religious-and-spiritual-beliefs","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-and-spiritual-beliefs\/","is_active":false},{"id":198630,"title":"12. Spiritual experiences","slug":"religious-landscape-study-spiritual-experiences","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-spiritual-experiences\/","is_active":false},{"id":198635,"title":"13. Spiritual activities","slug":"spiritual-activities","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/spiritual-activities\/","is_active":false},{"id":198640,"title":"14. Spiritual and religious self-descriptions","slug":"spiritual-and-religious-self-descriptions","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/spiritual-and-religious-self-descriptions\/","is_active":false},{"id":198645,"title":"15. Religion, partisanship and ideology","slug":"religion-partisanship-and-ideology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-partisanship-and-ideology\/","is_active":false},{"id":198650,"title":"16. Religion and views on LGBTQ issues and abortion","slug":"religion-and-views-on-lgbtq-issues-and-abortion","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-lgbtq-issues-and-abortion\/","is_active":false},{"id":198654,"title":"17. Religion and views on gender, parenting and workforce participation","slug":"religion-and-views-on-gender-parenting-and-workforce-participation","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-gender-parenting-and-workforce-participation\/","is_active":false},{"id":198659,"title":"18. Religion and views on immigration and diversity","slug":"religion-and-views-on-immigration-and-diversity","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-immigration-and-diversity\/","is_active":false},{"id":198664,"title":"19. Religion and views on the environment","slug":"religion-and-views-on-the-environment","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-the-environment\/","is_active":false},{"id":198669,"title":"20. Religion and views on the role of government","slug":"religion-and-views-on-the-role-of-government","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-on-the-role-of-government\/","is_active":false},{"id":198691,"title":"21. Religion and views of right and wrong","slug":"religion-and-views-of-right-and-wrong","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-of-right-and-wrong\/","is_active":false},{"id":198696,"title":"22. Religion\u2019s role in public life","slug":"religious-landscape-study-religions-role-in-public-life","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-religions-role-in-public-life\/","is_active":false},{"id":198702,"title":"23. Religion and views of science","slug":"religion-and-views-of-science","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-of-science\/","is_active":false},{"id":198707,"title":"24. 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Prayer and other religious practices","slug":"prayer-and-other-religious-practices","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/prayer-and-other-religious-practices\/","is_active":false,"page_num":12},{"id":198624,"title":"11. Religious and spiritual beliefs","slug":"religious-and-spiritual-beliefs","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-and-spiritual-beliefs\/","is_active":false,"page_num":13},{"id":198630,"title":"12. Spiritual experiences","slug":"religious-landscape-study-spiritual-experiences","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-spiritual-experiences\/","is_active":false,"page_num":14},{"id":198635,"title":"13. Spiritual activities","slug":"spiritual-activities","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/spiritual-activities\/","is_active":false,"page_num":15},{"id":198640,"title":"14. Spiritual and religious self-descriptions","slug":"spiritual-and-religious-self-descriptions","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/spiritual-and-religious-self-descriptions\/","is_active":false,"page_num":16},{"id":198645,"title":"15. Religion, partisanship and ideology","slug":"religion-partisanship-and-ideology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-partisanship-and-ideology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":17},{"id":198650,"title":"16. 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Religion\u2019s role in public life","slug":"religious-landscape-study-religions-role-in-public-life","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-religions-role-in-public-life\/","is_active":false,"page_num":24},{"id":198702,"title":"23. Religion and views of science","slug":"religion-and-views-of-science","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-of-science\/","is_active":false,"page_num":25},{"id":198707,"title":"24. 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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Bar](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-02.png?w=840\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Net gains and losses among religious traditions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-03.png?w=681\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Net gains and losses among Protestant denominational families<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-04.png?w=695\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nRetention among religious traditions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-05.png?w=1024\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nRetention among Protestant denominational families<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-06.png?w=1024\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nChange in religiousness over time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-07.png?w=745\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nChange in spirituality over time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_02-08.png?w=745\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n