{"id":198615,"date":"2025-02-26T06:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=198615"},"modified":"2025-10-28T14:49:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:49:21","slug":"race-and-ethnicity-in-religious-congregations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/race-and-ethnicity-in-religious-congregations\/","title":{"rendered":"9. Race and ethnicity in religious congregations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans who go to religious services tend to worship where most other congregants and senior leaders share their race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of U.S. adults who attend religious services in person at least a few times a year (called \u201cattenders\u201d in this chapter) say they go to a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other house of worship in which all or most other congregants share their race or ethnicity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds also go to congregations where the senior religious leaders<\/em> share their race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new Religious Landscape Study (RLS) also asked about the religious composition of the congregation that respondents attended as children. Most people who grew up attending religious services at least a few times a year (78%) say they went to religious services in which most other congregants had the same race or ethnicity as they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-in-ten say that as children they went to a house of worship where most attendees were of a different<\/em> race than their own. A similar share (10%) say they attended a congregation where no single racial group made up a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today, half of U.S. adults who attend religious services at least a few times a year report that all or most other people in their house of worship are White, 11% say most of their fellow congregants are Hispanic, 10% say most are Black, and 4% say most are Asian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when it comes to leadership<\/em> in their houses of worship, 53% of U.S. adults who attend services at least a few times a year say that all or most of the senior leaders there are White, 11% say most are Black, 10% say most are Hispanic, and 4% say most are Asian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, 21% of attenders go to congregations where no one racial or ethnic group accounts for a majority of congregants, and 18% go to a congregation where no one racial or ethnic group makes up a majority of senior leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about how religious service attenders answer the survey\u2019s questions about the <\/strong>racial and ethnic compositions of congregations<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>congregational leaders<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The racial and ethnic composition of congregations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year say that all or most of their fellow worshippers are the same race or ethnicity as themselves. An additional 11% say they go to a congregation where all or most other congregants have a different race or ethnicity than they do, and 21% attend a congregation in which no single racial group makes up a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most Jews (81%) worship where all or most attendees are the same race or ethnicity as themselves, as do 73% of mainline Protestants, 72% of members of the historically Black Protestant tradition, and 71% of Hindus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muslim Americans are an exception. Just 35% of Muslim Americans say they worship in congregations where they share the race or ethnicity of all or most of their fellow worshippers. A majority of Muslims who attend religious services do so either where all or most congregants are a different<\/em> race than they are (26%), or where no one racial group makes up a majority (39%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not discuss results for religious \u201cnones\u201d in this section because the vast majority of them \u2013 88% \u2013 seldom or never attend religious services. Most of the rest say they attend religious services a few times a year (9%). Just 3% of religious \u201cnones\u201d say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey did not include enough interviews with Orthodox Christians or members of other religiously affiliated groups who attend religious services in person at least a few times a year to be able to show their results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey finds that 85% of Jewish attenders say they go to a congregation in which all or most other congregants are White, as do 70% of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (widely known as Mormons), 70% of mainline Protestants and 61% of evangelical Protestants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of attenders who identify with the historically Black Protestant tradition say they go to a congregation in which all or most other people are Black or African American.[51. numoffset=”51″ The \u201chistorically Black Protestant tradition\u201d as defined here includes both<\/em> 1) people who identify with historically Black denominations \u2013 such as the National Baptist Convention, USA, or the Church of God in Christ \u2013 and 2) Black respondents who provided a vague denominational affiliation, such as \u201cjust Baptist\u201d or \u201cjust Methodist.\u201d This definition is consistent with the 2007 and 2014 Religious Landscape Studies. That said, using this approach results in findings with lower shares of people in the historically Black Protestant tradition going to congregations with mostly Black leaders and members than is seen when other methods are used to define the historically Black Protestant tradition. For example, our 2021 study of religion among Black Americans found that among respondents who belonged to one of the following Black Protestant denominations<\/a> \u2013 the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; the Church of God in Christ; the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International; the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; the National Baptist Convention, USA; and the Progressive National Baptist Convention \u2013 78% say they go to congregations with majority Black leaders and 74% say the majority of their congregation\u2019s members are Black. In the Religious Landscape Study (RLS), when the analysis is limited solely to people who identify with these historically Black denominations, we find 71% report attending congregations with majority Black membership<\/em> and 70% report attending congregations with majority Black leadership<\/em>. Pew Research Center\u2019s 2021 analysis of faith among Black Americans included a more detailed discussion<\/a> on the size and makeup of historically Black Protestant denominations.] And about three-quarters of Hindu attenders (77%) report that all or most of their fellow worshippers are Asian or Asian American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly half of Catholic attenders (47%) go to Mass at a church in which all or most other congregants are White, while 27% of Catholic attenders go to a church that is mostly Hispanic or Latino, and 19% say they attend a church where no racial group makes up a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The differences across religious groups in the way respondents describe the racial and ethnic makeup of their congregations partly reflects the racial and ethnic composition of the groups themselves. For details on the racial and ethnic composition of people within these religious categories, refer to Chapter 24<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The racial and ethnic composition of congregational leaders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As with the racial and ethnic composition of congregants, two-thirds of Americans who attend religious services say they go to congregations in which all or most of the senior religious leaders are the same race or ethnicity as they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here again, Muslims are a notable exception. Fewer than half of Muslim respondents say they share the same race as most of the religious leaders at their mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly nine-in-ten Jewish Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year say all or most of the leaders at their congregation are White. Three-quarters of Latter-day Saints and mainline Protestants say the same, as do two-thirds of evangelical Protestants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About half of Catholics say all or most of the senior religious leaders at their parishes are White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans who go to religious services tend to worship at places where most other congregants and senior leaders share their race or ethnicity. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":675,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[382,161,192,180,179,183,193,186,189,188,187,185,190,169,181,194,184,182,24,164,171,167,172,422,176,163,435,174,160,195],"tags":[],"bylines":[925,571,975,922,600,689,926,917,744,622],"collection":[2625],"datasets":[2610],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[517],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-198615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism-agnosticism","category-beliefs-practices","category-buddhism","category-catholicism","category-christianity","category-evangelicalism","category-hinduism","category-historically-black-protestantism","category-islam","category-judaism","category-latter-day-saint-mormon","category-mainline-protestantism","category-muslim-americans","category-non-religion-secularism","category-orthodox-christianity","category-other-religions","category-pentecostalism","category-protestantism","category-religion","category-religion-abortion","category-religion-government-1","category-religion-lgbtq-acceptance","category-religion-politics-1","category-religion-race-1","category-religion-science-2","category-religion-social-values","category-religious-commitment","category-religious-demographics","category-religious-identity-affiliation","category-religiously-unaffiliated","bylines-alan-cooperman","bylines-asta-kallo","bylines-becka-alper","bylines-besheer-mohamed","bylines-michael-rotolo","bylines-dalia-fahmy","bylines-gregory-a-smith","bylines-jeff-diamant","bylines-justin-nortey","bylines-patricia-tevington","collection-religious-landscape-study","datasets-2023-24-religious-landscape-study-rls-dataset","formats-report","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-religion"],"label":false,"post_parent":198882,"word_count":1178,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/race-and-ethnicity-in-religious-congregations\/","art_direction":{"A2":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false},"A1":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":200123,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_featured.jpg?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Illustration by Shawna X","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":198882,"title":"Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off","slug":"decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off\/","is_active":false},{"id":199977,"title":"Executive 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":false},{"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":true},{"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. Age, race, education and other demographic traits of U.S. religious groups","slug":"age-race-education-and-other-demographic-traits-of-us-religious-groups","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/age-race-education-and-other-demographic-traits-of-us-religious-groups\/","is_active":false},{"id":199980,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"religious-landscape-study-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false},{"id":198712,"title":"Methodology","slug":"religious-landscape-study-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-methodology\/","is_active":false},{"id":198570,"title":"Appendix A: Comparing results across Religious Landscape Studies","slug":"appendix-a-comparing-results-across-religious-landscape-studies","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-a-comparing-results-across-religious-landscape-studies\/","is_active":false},{"id":199047,"title":"Appendix B: Classification of Protestant denominations","slug":"appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations\/","is_active":false},{"id":199014,"title":"Appendix C: Comparing the Center\u2019s religion trends with those of other major surveys","slug":"appendix-c-comparing-the-centers-religion-trends-with-those-of-other-major-surveys","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-c-comparing-the-centers-religion-trends-with-those-of-other-major-surveys\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":[{"key":"_hqbtxairn","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_report.pdf","label":"Report PDF","attachmentId":201456},{"key":"_610p9lj1l","type":"topline","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_topline.pdf","label":"Topline","attachmentId":198817},{"key":"_cybgac6jo","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_bridge-study-topline.pdf ","label":"Bridge study topline","icon":"topline"},{"key":"_w3azbt40s","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_questionnaire-paper.pdf ","label":"English paper questionnaire","icon":"questionnaire"},{"key":"_0clxkxa7y","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_questionnaire-web-phone.pdf ","label":"English\/Spanish web\/phone questionnaire","icon":"questionnaire"},{"key":"_3v9yqe1pf","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/PR_2025.02.26_religious-landscape-study_questionnaire-spanish.pdf ","label":"Spanish paper questionnaire","icon":"questionnaire"},{"key":"_6csj20rbl","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religious-landscape-study\/","label":"Interactive: Religious Landscape Study","icon":"link"},{"key":"_hhdnnw2h1","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0YAPvy6bK6M","label":"Video: Religion and Spirituality in America","icon":"video"},{"type":"dataset","id":2610,"label":"2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) Dataset","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/dataset\/2023-24-religious-landscape-study-rls-dataset\/"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":{"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":true,"page_num":11},"next_post":{"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,"page_num":12},"previous_post":{"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,"page_num":10},"pagination_items":[{"id":198882,"title":"Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off","slug":"decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":199977,"title":"Executive 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,"page_num":2},{"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,"page_num":3},{"id":198579,"title":"2. Religious switching","slug":"religious-switching","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-switching\/","is_active":false,"page_num":4},{"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,"page_num":5},{"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,"page_num":6},{"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,"page_num":7},{"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,"page_num":8},{"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,"page_num":9},{"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,"page_num":10},{"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":true,"page_num":11},{"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,"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. 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,"page_num":18},{"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,"page_num":19},{"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,"page_num":20},{"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,"page_num":21},{"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,"page_num":22},{"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,"page_num":23},{"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,"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. Age, race, education and other demographic traits of U.S. religious groups","slug":"age-race-education-and-other-demographic-traits-of-us-religious-groups","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/age-race-education-and-other-demographic-traits-of-us-religious-groups\/","is_active":false,"page_num":26},{"id":199980,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"religious-landscape-study-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false,"page_num":27},{"id":198712,"title":"Methodology","slug":"religious-landscape-study-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-landscape-study-methodology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":28},{"id":198570,"title":"Appendix A: Comparing results across Religious Landscape Studies","slug":"appendix-a-comparing-results-across-religious-landscape-studies","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-a-comparing-results-across-religious-landscape-studies\/","is_active":false,"page_num":29},{"id":199047,"title":"Appendix B: Classification of Protestant denominations","slug":"appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-b-classification-of-protestant-denominations\/","is_active":false,"page_num":30},{"id":199014,"title":"Appendix C: Comparing the Center\u2019s religion trends with those of other major surveys","slug":"appendix-c-comparing-the-centers-religion-trends-with-those-of-other-major-surveys","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/appendix-c-comparing-the-centers-religion-trends-with-those-of-other-major-surveys\/","is_active":false,"page_num":31}]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off","parent_id":198882},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"Smith, Gregory, Alan Cooperman, Becka Alper, Besheer Mohamed, Chip Rotolo, Patricia Tevington, Justin Nortey, Asta Kallo, Jeff Diamant and Dalia Fahmy. 2025. \"Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off.\" Pew Research Center. doi: 10.58094\/4kqq-3112.","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Race & ethnicity at US religious congregations","description":"Americans who go to religious services tend to worship at places where most other congregants and senior leaders share their race or ethnicity. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.","og_title":"9. Race and ethnicity in religious congregations","og_description":"Americans who go to religious services tend to worship at places where most other congregants and senior leaders share their race or ethnicity. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.","schema_type":"Article","noindex":false,"canonical_url":"","primary_terms":{"category":24,"formats":458,"regions-countries":515,"research-teams":517,"collection":2625},"custom_schema":[],"og_image":200123,"indexnow_submitted_at":null,"gsc_index_status":null},"prepublish_checks":{"prc-image-alt-text":{"status":"complete","message":"All images have alt text.","data":null},"prc-about-this-research":{"status":"incomplete","message":"Add an \"About this research\" details block.","data":null},"prc-paragraph-count":{"status":"complete","message":"Found 22 paragraphs.","data":{"count":22}},"prc-internal-link":{"status":"complete","message":"Found 10 internal links.","data":{"count":10}}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"relatedPostsOrdered":[],"bylinesOrdered":[],"acknowledgementsOrdered":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/675"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198615"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203259,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198615\/revisions\/203259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"bylines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bylines?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"datasets","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/datasets?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"level_of_effort","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/level_of_effort?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"primary_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_audience?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"information_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/information_type?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"_post_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post_visibility?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"_fund_pool","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_fund_pool?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"regions-countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions-countries?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"research-teams","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-teams?post=198615"},{"taxonomy":"workflow-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow-status?post=198615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}