According to a 2022 survey, 31 percent of Americans never attend church or synagogue, compared to 20 percent of Americans who attend every week.

Religiosity in the United States

Despite only about a fifth of Americans attending church or synagogue on a weekly basis, almost 40 percent consider themselves to be very religious. Additionally, states in the Deep South such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana had the most residents identifying as very religious. In contrast, New England states like Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire had the most people identifying as nonreligious.

A Christian nation?

Despite the official separation of church and state embedded in the Constitution, many would still consider the United States to be a Christian nation. Catholicism has the largest number of adherents in the United States, due to there being many different Protestant denominations. The Southern Baptist Convention had the largest number of Evangelical adherents, while the United Methodist Church was the largest Mainline Protestant denomination.

This study was an effort to gather the statistics of churches and church membership throughout the United States for 1952. The data presented here are state-level data based on the cooperation of 114 religious denominations in the continental United States.

The share of Americans who were not a member of a church or synagogue has been increasing since 1992. In 2023, about 55 percent of Americans were not members of a church or synagogue. In that same year, 45 percent of Americans were members of a church or synagogue.

This data collection contains information by region, state, and county on churches and church membership for 53 Christian denominations in the United States in 1971. These estimates or enumerations by denomination were collected by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCCC) from each reporting denomination. The data are recorded for the nation as a whole, regions, states, SMSAs, and counties. This dataset was obtained from the Office of Research, Evaluation and Planning of the NCCC. In addition to data identifying the units of record, data for each reporting denomination are present, including: (1) number of churches, (2) number of communicant, confirmed, or full members, and (3) total number of "adherents." When incomplete information was supplied about a denomination's total number of adherents, an estimate was made by NCCC and identified in the data as such.

This study, designed and completed by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB), represents statistics for 149 religious bodies on the number of congregations within each county of the United States. Where available, also included are actual membership (as defined by the religious body) and total adherents figures. Participants included 149 Christian denominations, associations, or communions (including Latter-day Saints and Unitarian/Universalist groups); two specially defined groups of independent Christian churches; Jewish and Islamic totals; and counts of temples for six Eastern religions.

It is important to understand the methodology producing these data and its limitations. While these data contain membership data for many religious groups in the United States, including most of the larger groups, they do not include every group. It is recommended that users read the notes below. Users may also want to refer to a paper by Roger Finke and Christopher P. Scheitle that explains the "adjusted" adherence rates included in the file.

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This data set contains statistics by county for 111 Judeo-Christian church bodies, providing information on their number of churches and members. The denominations included represent an estimated 91 percent of U.S. membership totals officially submitted to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

This is the replication package for "Churches as Social Insurance: Oil Risk and Religion in the U.S. South". Abstract: Religious communities are important providers of social insurance. We show that risk associated with oil dependence facilitated the proliferation of religious communities throughout the U.S. South during the 20th century. Known oil abundance predicts higher rates of church membership, which are not driven by selective migration or local economic development. Consistent with a social insurance channel, greater oil price volatility increases effects, while greater access to credit, state-level social insurance, and private insurance crowds out effects. Religious communities limit spillovers of oil price shocks across sectors, reducing increases in unemployment following a negative shock by about 30%.

This data collection contains county-level information on churches and church membership by denomination in Michigan for 1950 and 1960. Information is given on the names of the county, presbytery, and church. Other variables provide information on the number of churches and church members for each denomination. Additional variables give the number and percentage of the state population who were 14 years and older in each county in 1950 and in 1960, the percentage of this age group who attended churches in 1950 and in 1960, and the percentage of the change in membership in each denomination between 1950 and 1960.

This statistic shows a ranking of major American denominations in 2010, by average attendance at worships. In 2010, the median average attendance of worships of the American Baptist Churches USA was 80 people.

These data are the reported results of the 133 church bodies which participated in the study and includes information on the state and county-levels for each of the participating congregations. Variables include denomination code and sub-code, number of churches, number of members, number of adherents, percent of total population, and percent of total adherents.

This data set contains statistics by state for 133 Judeo-Christian church bodies, providing information on the number of churches and members. It is not known exactly what percent of total Judeo-Christian adherents this actually represents. When compared to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches: 1990, this study accounts for 23 percent more communicant members.

Please note that this data set may not be sold in any form, including as an addition to proprietary software, without the permission of the copyright holder. Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1990 is published by the Glenmary Research Center, P.O. Box 507, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

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This study, designed and carried out by the "http://www.asarb.org/" Target="_blank">Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB), compiled data on 372 religious bodies by county in the United States. Of these, the ASARB was able to gather data on congregations and adherents for 217 religious bodies and on congregations only for 155. Participating bodies included 354 Christian denominations, associations, or communions (including Latter-day Saints, Messianic Jews, and Unitarian/Universalist groups); counts of Jain, Shinto, Sikh, Tao, Zoroastrian, American Ethical Union, and National Spiritualist Association congregations, and counts of congregations and adherents from Baha'i, three Buddhist groupings, two Hindu groupings, and four Jewish groupings, and Muslims. The 372 groups reported a total of 356,642 congregations with 161,224,088 adherents, comprising 48.6 percent of the total U.S. population of 331,449,281. Membership totals were estimated for some religious groups.

In January 2024, the ARDA added 21 religious tradition (RELTRAD) variables to this dataset. These variables start at variable #9 (TOTCNG_2020). Categories were assigned based on pages 88-94 in the original "https://www.usreligioncensus.org/index.php/node/1638" Target="_blank">2020 U.S. Religion Census Report.

Visit the "https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/sources-for-religious-congregations-membership-data" Target="_blank">frequently asked questions page for more information about the ARDA's religious congregation and membership data sources.

No description was included in this Dataset collected from the OSF

This data set contains statistics by county on Christian churches and membership for 1971. Fifty-three denominations are included, representing an estimated 81 percent of church membership in the United States.

Attitudes to current national and international problems. Topics: effort for world peace; help for FRG in the case of conflict; greatest economic power; greatest military power; trust in USA, China and USSR in the treatment of world problems; agreement of fundamental interests of FRG and China, USA and USSR; threat to FRG from China; trip of US president Nixon in China (knowledge, opinion on it, expected results, effect on FRG); trip of US president Nixon in the USSR (knowledge; opinion on it, expected results, effect on FRG); interest of USA in European questions. Demography: age; marital status; religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; education; occupation; income; sex; city size; state. Also encoded was: length of interview; number of visits; presence of others; willingness to cooperate; degree of difficulty; date of interview.

This dataset is a longitudinal version of the Churches and Church Membership in the United States studies from 1980 and 1990, and the Religious Congregations and Membership Studies from 2000 and 2010. It contains the adherent and congregation counts of 302 religious groups that participated in at least one of the 1980-2010 data collections. It is very important to understand how this file differs from its standalone counterparts, and its many limitations. Using these data for over-time comparisons without reading any documentation will likely result in inaccurate statistics. Data users are strongly urged to read the paper by Rachel Bacon, Roger Finke and Dale Jones that details all the changes made when creating the longitudinal file. Major changes made to the file include new variable naming schemes, new combined religious groups that correct for schisms and mergers, new adherent counts for the United Methodist Church, and count estimates for missing data among 40 groups. Users can download the paper "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13644-018-0339-4" Target="_blank">here. Users can download the appendices here: "/ARDA/archives/AppendixA_RCMS.pdf" Target="_blank">Appendix A, "/ARDA/archives/AppendixB_RCMS.pdf" Target="_blank">Appendix B, "/ARDA/archives/AppendixC_RCMS.pdf" Target="_blank">Appendix C.

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Erratum: An error in the variable indicating the total state population by year (TOTPOP) has been corrected. This variable now matches the RCMS state level files for the years 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010.

Attitudes to current national and international questions. Topics: trust in USSR and USA; conduct of USSR and conduct of USA in international affairs; efforts of USSR and USA for world peace; strongest nation; strongest nuclear power; stationing of American troops in Europe; defense expenditures of FRG; attitude to disarmament; knowledge about the meeting of Nixon and the USSR leadership; outcome of the meeting in view of a reduction of tension in the world situation; assessment of a possible agreement with the USSR; success of USSR at this meeting; success of USA at this meeting; effect of the results on West Germany; positive or negative consequences of the meeting; agreement about arms limitations; trust in USA in view of fundamental interests of Germany; trust in problem solving ability of the USA with social and economic problems. Demography: age; marital status; religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; education; occupation; income; sex; size of place of residence; state. Also encoded was: length of interview; number of contact attempts; presence of other persons; willingness to cooperate; difficulty of interview; date of interview; weighting. Einstellungen zu aktuellen nationalen und internationalen Fragen. Themen: Vertrauen in die UdSSR und die USA; Verhalten der UdSSR und Verhalten der USA in internationalen Angelegenheiten; Bemühungen der UdSSR und der USA um den Weltfrieden; stärkste Nation; stärkste Nuklearmacht; amerikanische Truppenstationierung in Europa; Verteidigungsausgaben der BRD; Einstellung zur Abrüstung; Wissen über das Treffen von Nixon und der UdSSR-Führung; Erfolg des Treffens im Hinblick auf eine Entspannung der Weltlage; Einschätzung eines möglichen Übereinkommens mit der UdSSR; Erfolg der UdSSR bei diesem Treffen; Erfolg der USA bei diesem Treffen; Auswirkung der Ergebnisse auf Westdeutschland; positive oder negative Folgen des Treffens; Einigung über Rüstungsbeschränkungen; Vertrauen in die USA im Hinblick auf grundlegende Interessen Deutschlands; Vertrauen in die Problemlösungsfähigkeit der USA bei sozialen und ökonomischen Problemen. Demographie: Alter; Familienstand; Konfession; Kirchgangshäufigkeit; Bildung; Beruf; Einkommen; Geschlecht; Größe des Wohnorts; Bundesland. Zusätzlich verkodet wurden: Dauer des Interviews; Anzahl der Kontaktversuche; Anwesenheit anderer Personen; Kooperationsbereitschaft; Schwierigkeit des Interviews; Interviewdatum; Gewichtung. 3-stage random selection.

This study contains an assortment of data files relating to the electoral and demographic history of New York State. Part 1, Mortality Statistics of the Seventh Census, 1850: Place of Birth for United States Cities, contains counts of persons by place of birth for United States cities as reported in the 1850 United States Census. Place of birth is coded for states and for selected foreign countries, and percentages are also included. Part 2, Selected Tables of New York State and United States Censuses of 1835-1875: New York State Counties, contains data from the New York State Censuses of 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, and 1875, and includes data from the United States Censuses of 1840 and 1850. The bulk of the tables concern church and synagogue membership. The tables for 1835 and 1845 include counts of persons by sex, legal male voters, alien males, not taxed Colored, taxed Colored, and taxed Colored can vote. The 1840 tables include total population, employment by industry, and military pensioners. The 1855 tables provide counts of persons by place of birth. Part 3, New York State Negro Suffrage Referenda Returns, 1846, 1860, and 1869, by Election District, contains returns for 28 election districts on the issue of Negro suffrage, with information on number of votes for, against, and total votes. Also provided are percentages of votes for and against Negro suffrage. Part 4, New York State Liquor License Referendum Returns, 1846, Town Level, contains returns from the Liquor License Referendum held in May 1846. For each town the file provides total number of votes cast, votes for, votes against, and percentage of votes for and against. The source of the data are New York State Assembly Documents, 70 Session, 1847, Document 40. Part 5, New York State Censuses of 1845, 1855, 1865, and 1875: Counts of Churches and Church Membership by Denomination, contains counts of churches, total value of church property, church seating capacity, usual number of persons attending church, and number of church members from the New York State Censuses of 1845, 1855, 1865, and 1875. Counts are by denomination at the state summary level. Part 6, New York State Election Returns, Censuses, and Religious Censuses: Merged Tables, 1830-1875, Town Level, presents town-level data for the elections of 1830, 1834, 1838, 1840, and 1842. The file also includes various summary statistics from the New York State Censuses of 1835, 1845, 1855, and 1865 with limited data from the 1840 United States Census. The data for 1835 and 1845 include male eligible voters, aliens not naturalized, non-white persons not taxed, and non-white persons taxed. The data for 1840 include population, employment by industry, and military service pensioners. The data for 1845 cover total population and number of males, place of birth, and churches. The data for 1855 and 1865 provide counts of persons by place of birth, number of dwellings, total value of dwellings, counts of persons by race and sex, number of voters by native and foreign born, and number of families. The data for 1865 also include counts of Colored not taxed and data for churches and synagogues such as number, value, seating capacity, and attendance. The data for 1875 include population, native and foreign born, counts of persons by race, by place of birth, by native, by naturalized citizens, and by alien males aged 21 and over. Part 7, New York State Election Returns, Censuses, and Religious Censuses: Merged Tables, 1844-1865, Town Level, contains town-level data for the state of New York for the elections of 1844 and 1860. It also contains data for 1850 such as counts of persons by sex and race. Data for 1855 includes counts of churches, value of churches and real estate, seating capacity, and church membership. Data for 1860 include date church was founded and source of that information. Also provided are total population counts for the years 1790, 1800, 1814, 1820, 1825, 1830, 1835, 1845, 1856, 1850, 1855, 1860, and 1865. (ICPSR 3/16/2015)

This data set contains statistics by county for 111 Judeo-Christian church bodies, providing information on their number of churches and members. The denominations included represent an estimated 91 percent of U.S. membership totals officially submitted to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Please note that this data set may not be sold in any form, including as an addition to proprietary software, without the permission of the copyright holder. Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1980 is published by the Glenmary Research Center, P.O. Box 507, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Visit the "/us-religion/sources-for-religious-congregations-membership-data" Target="_blank">frequently asked questions page for more information about the ARDA's religious congregation and membership data.

This study, designed and carried out by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB), compiled data on the number of congregations and adherents for 236 religious groups in each county of the United States. Participants included 217 Christian denominations, associations, or communions (including Latter-day Saints, Messianic Jews, and Unitarian/Universalist groups); counts of Jain, Shinto, Sikh, Tao and National Spiritualist Association congregations, and counts of congregations and adherents from Baha'ís, three Buddhist groupings, four Hindu groupings, four Jewish groupings, Muslims and Zoroastrians. The 236 groups reported a total of 344,894 congregations with 150,686,156 adherents, comprising 48.8 percent of the total U.S. population of 308,745,538 in 2010. Visit the frequently asked questions page for more information about the ARDA's religious congregation and membership data sources.