{"id":13380,"date":"2015-08-27T14:51:58","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T19:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/10-facts-about-religion-in-america\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:19:52","slug":"10-facts-about-religion-in-america","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2015\/08\/27\/10-facts-about-religion-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"10 facts about religion in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a fascinating time for conversations about faith in the United States, with Pope Francis set to visit next month, a presidential election on the horizon and major trends reshaping the country\u2019s religious landscape<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

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

One of the most important and well-documented shifts taking place over the past decade is the steadily rising share of people who are religiously unaffiliated<\/em> \u2013 from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014. As journalists and others gather in Philadelphia for the annual Religion Newswriters Association conference this week, here are 10 other things we\u2019ve learned from our recent research:<\/p>\n\n

Protestants no longer make up a majority of U.S. adults. <\/strong>Closely tied to the rise of the religious \u201cnones\u201d is the decline of Christians, including Protestants. The U.S. has a long history as a majority Protestant nation, and, as recently as the 2007 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, more than half of U.S. adults (51.3%) identified as Protestants. But that figure has fallen, and our 2014 study found that 46.5% of Americans are now Protestants.<\/p>\n\n

Religious switching<\/strong><\/a> is a common occurrence in the U.S. <\/strong>Depending on how \u201creligious switching\u201d is defined, as many as 42% of U.S. adults have switched religions. That definition counts switching between Protestant traditions, but even if Protestantism is regarded as a single group, about a third of Americans (34%) identify with a different religious group than the one in which they were raised.<\/p>\n\n

There is a wide range of racial and ethnic diversity<\/a> among U.S. religious groups and denominations. Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses are among the most racially and ethnically diverse U.S. religious groups<\/strong>. The least diverse are the National Baptist Convention, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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

Before Pope Francis\u2019 encyclical on the environment was published in June, U.S. Catholics\u2019 views of climate change<\/a> mirrored those of Americans overall \u2013 including major partisan divisions.<\/strong> While six-in-ten Catholic Democrats say global warming is caused by humans and that it is a very serious problem, only about a quarter of Catholic Republicans feel the same way.<\/p>\n\n

In a typical week, about one-in-five Americans <\/strong>share their faith online<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> This is about the same as the number who tune in to religious talk radio, watch religious TV programs or listen to Christian rock music.<\/p>\n\n

Americans have continued to become more supportive of same-sex marriage.<\/strong> Aggregated data from 2015 polls show that fully 55% of U.S. adults favor same-sex marriage<\/a>, which is now legal nationwide following a Supreme Court ruling in June. That represents a rise of 20 percentage points over the last decade or so. Among the major religious groups, White evangelical Protestants are the least supportive of gay marriage (24%), while those without any religious affiliation are the most likely to favor allowing gays and lesbians to wed (82%).<\/p>\n\n

Religious freedom or discrimination? A 2014 poll<\/a> found Americans are divided on the question of whether wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples<\/strong> for religious reasons, with 47% saying businesses should be able to refuse service and 49% saying establishments should be required to serve same-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n

On another hotly debated social issue \u2013 abortion \u2013 Americans\u2019 views in the last two decades have <\/strong>largely held steady<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> A majority of U.S. adults (55%) continue to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. At the same time, four-in-ten say it should be illegal in all or most cases.<\/p>\n\n

Frequency of religious service attendance remains a strong predictor of how people will vote in elections.<\/strong> In the 2014 midterm elections<\/a>, exit polls showed that those who attend worship services at least weekly voted for Republicans over Democrats for the House of Representatives by a 58%-to-40% margin. Meanwhile, those who never attend services leaned heavily toward Democrats (62% vs. 36%).<\/p>\n\n

Christians continue to make up an overwhelming majority of members of Congress<\/a> (92%), compared with 71% of the general public (as of 2014). At the same time, while 23% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, only one member of Congress (Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.), or 0.2% of that body, claims no religious affiliation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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

It\u2019s a fascinating time for conversations about faith in the United States, with Pope Francis set to visit, a presidential election on the horizon and major trends reshaping the country\u2019s religious 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