{"id":7915,"date":"2023-07-31T10:56:10","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/the-us-is-not-widely-seen-as-highly-religious\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T00:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:00:11","slug":"the-us-is-not-widely-seen-as-highly-religious","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/07\/31\/the-us-is-not-widely-seen-as-highly-religious\/","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. is not widely seen as highly religious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"856667\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #856667;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?resize=1280,720 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_feature-jpg.webp?w=640\" alt=\"Hands praying over an American flag.\" class=\"wp-image-9556 not-transparent\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A modest share of people around the world see the United States as more religious than other wealthy nations \u2013 despite considerable evidence that it is.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Pew Research Center analysis examines how people in 23 surveyed countries view the religiosity of the United States, as well as how the U.S. compares with other wealthy nations in terms of religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis draws on nationally representative surveys of 27,285 adults conducted from Feb. 20 to May 22, 2023. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Surveys were conducted face-to-face in Hungary, Poland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. In Australia, we used a mixed-mode probability-based online panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data from the U.S. on the importance of religion in people\u2019s lives \u2013 as well as Americans\u2019 rates of affiliation \u2013 come from a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2021\/12\/14\/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated\/\">published analysis based on the Center\u2019s 2021 National Public Opinion Reference Survey<\/a> (NPORS). The survey was conducted online and by mail among a nationally representative group of respondents recruited using address-based sampling, which ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The study was conducted from May 29 to Aug. 25, 2021.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/07\/31\/the-us-is-not-widely-seen-as-highly-religious\/sr_2023-07-31_us-religiosity_1-png\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9550\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d5e1e5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d5e1e5;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_1.png?resize=480,805 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_1.png?resize=782,1311 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_1.png?resize=840,1408 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"704\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_1.png?w=420\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that, in surveyed countries, people generally don\u2019t see the U.S. as more religious than other wealthy nations.\" class=\"wp-image-9550 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A global median of 23% of adults say the U.S. is more religious than other wealthy nations,<\/strong> according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/06\/27\/how-americans-views-of-the-us-compare-with-international-views-of-the-us\/\">Pew Research Center survey of 23 countries conducted this spring<\/a>. Far more adults in these countries say the U.S. is either about as religious as other wealthy nations (a median of 41% say this) or less religious than other wealthy nations (a median of 26% say this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many surveyed countries, <strong>the<\/strong> <strong>most common response is that the U.S. is about as religious as other wealthy nations<\/strong>. More than half of all adults say this in Hungary (59%) and Spain (54%), for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In some countries, large shares say the U.S. is less religious than other wealthy nations. Nearly half of adults (48%) say this in Mexico \u2013 one of nine surveyed countries in which at least 33% of adults say this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-the-u-s-compares-religiously-with-other-wealthy-nations\">How the U.S. compares religiously with other wealthy nations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/07\/31\/the-us-is-not-widely-seen-as-highly-religious\/sr_2023-07-31_us-religiosity_2-png\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9553\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d9e3e8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d9e3e8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_2.png?resize=480,867 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_2.png?resize=620,1120 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"560\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/SR_2023.07.31_US-Religiosity_2.png?w=310\" alt=\"A bar chart that shows, among surveyed high-income nations, Americans are the most likely to say religion is very important in their life.\" class=\"wp-image-9553 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perceptions aside, there is evidence from multiple cross-national surveys that the U.S. is considerably more religious than similarly wealthy nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at the high-income nations included in the Center\u2019s spring survey, <strong>U.S. adults are more likely than many others to say religion is very important in their life<\/strong>. Around four-in-ten Americans (41%) say this \u2013 almost twice as many (21%) as the median share for wealthy countries surveyed. (This analysis uses the <a href=\"https:\/\/datahelpdesk.worldbank.org\/knowledgebase\/articles\/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups\">World Bank\u2019s definition of high-income countries<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>But the U.S. is more similar to its wealthy peers in its shares of religiously affiliated adults.<\/strong> About 70% of U.S. adults say they belong to some religion \u2013 compared with a median of 64% in the other high-income countries included in the spring survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2018\/06\/13\/why-do-levels-of-religious-observance-vary-by-age-and-country\/\">2018 Center analysis<\/a> also showed that the <strong>U.S. stands out among wealthy countries in terms of religious commitment<\/strong>. Out of 102 countries analyzed, the U.S. was the only one with both <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2018\/06\/13\/why-do-levels-of-religious-observance-vary-by-age-and-country\/pf-06-13-18_religiouscommitment-01-02\/\">above-average gross domestic product per capita<\/a> <em>and<\/em> above-average frequency of daily prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, as is the case in other wealthy countries, <strong>religious commitment has been falling in the U.S. in recent decades<\/strong>. Since the 1990s, the share of U.S. adults who identify as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/09\/13\/how-u-s-religious-composition-has-changed-in-recent-decades\/\">has risen from about 8% to 29%<\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2022\/09\/13\/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america\/\">Pew Research Center projections<\/a> suggest that the religiously unaffiliated may outnumber Christians in the U.S. the coming decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A modest share of people around the world see the United States as more religious than other wealthy nations \u2013 despite considerable evidence that it 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