- Gina Christian, OSV News
The multi-year decline of Christianity in the United States may have stabilized, but trends indicating a long-term decline are still evident, according to the Religious Landscape Study 2023-2024 from Pew Researchwhich surveyed nearly 37,000 U.S. adults on a range of topics related to religious beliefs and practices.
The survey was conducted in English and Spanish between July 2023 and March 2024, and participants shared their opinions online, by mail or by phone. They were also asked about issues such as abortion, homosexuality, immigration and the role of government.
– Supernatural population The U.S. population was 335 million in 2023, and last year it could reach around 345 million, third in the world ranking, after India (1.45 billion) and China (1.42 billion). Russia is in ninth place, with about 144 million, and the world's third largest economy, with a population of about 1.5 billion. European Union of the 27 has 449 million.
X-ray: Catholics, 19 %, Protestants, 40 %
The extensive report shows that 19 % of the U.S. population identify themselves as catholiconly 29 % attend religious services on a weekly or more frequent basis.
The report revealed that 62 % of U.S. adults currently describe themselves as Christian, with the majority (40 %) being Protestant, 19 % Catholics and 3 % Christians of other denominations.
The total number of Americans identifying as Christian has declined from 78 % in 2007 and 71 % in 2014. In 2007, 24 % of the nation identified as Catholic, a figure that dropped to 21% in 2021.
More than a quarter (29 %) of the U.S. population identifies as religiously unaffiliated, with the majority (19 %) describing themselves as religiously 'nothing in particular,' 5 % as atheist, and 6 % as agnostic. Another 7 % of the U.S. population belongs to religions other than Christianity, with 2 % of Jews and approximately 1% of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus.
Settled beliefs, prayer once a day
Overall, however, a majority of Americans (86%) believe that people have souls or spirits, and 83 % say they believe in God or a universal spirit. A majority (79 %) also hold that there is a spiritual reality beyond the natural one, and 70 % believe in heaven, hell, or both.
Less than half (44 %) say they pray at least once a day, a figure that has held steady since 2021, and 33 % say they attend religious services at least once a month.
A downward perspective: young people, less religious
The Pew researchers estimate that "in the coming years we could see further declines in the religiosity of the American public." They note that "younger adults are much less religious than older adults" and "no recent birth bloc has become more religious as they have aged."
The "persistence" of a religious upbringing appears to have declined, while that of a nonreligious upbringing "appears to be increasing," say the Pew researchers.
Overall, "younger Americans remain much less religious than older Americans," Pew says, noting that 46 % of younger respondents (ages 18-24) identify as Christian, 27 % pray daily and 25 % attend religious services at least once a month.
In comparison, among older respondents (74 years and older), 80 % identified themselves as Christian, 58 % prayed daily, and 49 % attended religious services at least once a month.
For lasting stability, "something would have to change."
The increase in people with no religious affiliation, or 'nones,' has also stabilized for now, after "rising rapidly for decades," Pew has noted. However, the new survey "cannot definitively answer" whether that short-term stability will be "permanent," cautioned Gregory A. Smith, Pew's associate director of research.
Although he and his team "can't predict the future," Smith told OSV News that the data show "very clearly" that "the underlying forces that drove the long-term declines are still very much in evidence."
"Younger adults in the population remain much, much less religious than older adults," Smith added. "We also know that the cohort of older Americans (...) will decline as a percentage of the population as people in that cohort pass away."
For the stability observed by Pew to be permanent, "something would have to change," Smith explained. "Either today's young adults would have to become much more religious as they age, or new generations would have to emerge in the future that are much more religious than today's young adults."
Religion in childhood and adulthood.
The survey shows that Americans' current religious identities, beliefs and practices are closely related to their upbringing. People who say they grew up in religious households are much more likely to be religious as adults.
More than half of people who say religion was very important in their families growing up also say religion is very important to them today. In contrast, among people who say religion was not too important or not at all important to their families growing up, only 17 % say religion is very important to them today.
Losses of Catholics, conversions
Catholics have also "experienced the largest net losses" due to what Pew researchers have termed "religious change," with 43 % of those educated as Catholics no longer identifying as such, "meaning that 12.8 % of all U.S. adults are former Catholics," the report notes.
However, Smith said, "it's also important to note that 1.5 % of American adults are converts to Catholicism." "That's millions of people," he noted, and "it means there are more converts to Catholicism in the United States than Episcopalians, for example. There are more converts to Catholicism than there are members of Congregational churches, and so on," he added.
Increased acceptance of abortion and homosexuality
Catholics surveyed by Pew have also shown greater acceptance of abortion and homosexuality since 2007.
Among Catholics surveyed, 59 % said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared with 48 % in both the 2007 and 2014 Pew surveys. The Catholic Church holds that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception, and since the 1st century has affirmed the moral evil of all procured abortion.
A majority (59 %) of religiously affiliated people in the U.S. say homosexuality should be accepted by society, and 74 % of Catholic respondents support that view. The Catholic Church, which teaches that sexual activity can only morally take place in marriage between a man and a woman, also teaches that people with homosexual inclinations "should be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity."
Religious affiliation of U.S. immigrants
About 14 % of foreign-born adult Americans identify with religions other than Christianity, including 4 % of U.S. immigrants who are Muslim, 4 % who are Hindu and 3 % who are Buddhist, according to the report.
The majority of immigrants born in other parts of the Americas are Christian (72 %), of whom 45 % are Catholic. Among immigrants from Europe, 57 % are Christian, 8 % identify with other religions, and 34 % have no religious affiliation.
Immigrants born in the Asia-Pacific region are evenly split between Christians, followers of non-Christian religions (14 % are Hindus, 11 % Buddhists and 7 % Muslims) and people with no religious affiliation.
The survey did not include a sufficient number of respondents born in the Middle East and North Africa or sub-Saharan Africa regions to be able to report on them separately.
