In 1972, an estimated ** percent of the population in the United States identified as Christian. By 2020, this number dropped down to ** percent, a phenomenon which may be attributed to recent trends where many Americans have left Christianity to instead identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular. If these trends continue, the number of Americans who are Christian has been projected to fall to ** percent by 2070.

In the United States, the share of Americans affiliated with one of the three main white Christian religious denominations has been declining since 2006. While ** percent of Americans identified as White evangelical Protestants in 2006, the number was **** percent in 2023.

In 2023, **** percent of Americans were unaffiliated with any religion. A further **** percent of Americans were White evangelical Protestants, and an additional **** percent were White mainline Protestants. Religious trends in the United States Although the United States is still home to the largest number of Christians worldwide, the nation has started to reflect a more diverse religious landscape in recent years. Americans now report a wide range of religious beliefs and backgrounds, in addition to an increasing number of people who are choosing to identify with no religion at all. Studies suggest that many Americans have left their previous religion to instead identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular, with many reasoning that they stopped believing in the religion's teachings, that they didn't approve of negative teachings or treatment of LGBTQ+ people, or that their family was never that religious growing up. Christian controversies Over the last few years, controversies linked to Christian denominations have plagued the nation, including reports of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Christian churches have also been accused of supporting discriminatory actions against LGBTQ+ people and people belonging to other religious groups. In addition, there have been increasing concerns about Christian nationalism, the political ideology that asserts that America was founded to be a Christian nation. Although the majority of Americans still think that declaring the United States a Christian nation would go against the U.S. Constitution, studies found that most Republicans would be in favor of this change.

The average for 2013 based on 11 countries was 88.1 percent. The highest value was in Brazil: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Guyana: 48.8 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 1972, an estimated 90 percent of the population in the United States identified as Christian. By 2020, this number dropped down to 64 percent, a phenomenon which may be attributed to recent trends where many Americans have left Christianity to instead identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular. If these trends continue, the number of Americans who are Christian has been projected to fall to 35 percent by 2070.

In 2023, about 33 percent of Americans were Protestants, down from 69 percent in 1948. In that same year, about 22 percent of Americans were Catholic, while 22 percent said that they had no religion at all.

The average for 2013 based on 14 countries was 81.4 percent. The highest value was in Costa Rica: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Trinidad and Tobago: 37.5 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In the United States, the share of Americans affiliated with one of the three main white Christian religious denominations has been declining since 2006. While 23 percent of Americans identified as White evangelical Protestants in 2006, the number was 13.4 percent in 2023.

As 23 percent of the American population, white evangelicals are an important part of the American mainstream whose collective voice is growing louder both in politics and in culture. In many respects, white evangelicals look like other Americans. They live all over the country, they are found in cities and small towns alike, they have friends outside of their churches, and a majority have at least some college education. They share concerns with the rest of the country about the cost of healthcare and having a secure retirement. Yet white evangelicals share a set of strongly-held beliefs about the role of religion in daily life, and they incorporate a set of religious behaviors based on these beliefs into their daily lives. It is these beliefs and behaviors that set them apart religiously and politically from the rest of the country. This study places white evangelicals in comparative perspective with mainline Protestants, Catholics, African Americans, and Hispanics.

The "https://www.pewresearch.org/" Target="_blank">Pew Research Center is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing social science research. They research a wide variety of topics through intensive opinion polling and demographic research. In 2014, they conducted a nationally representative telephone survey in the United States called the Religious Landscape Survey. This survey was conducted from June 4 to Sept. 30 in 2014 and featured a sample size of 35,071 U.S. adults. In a continuation of the survey, 5,000 of the respondents from the original poll were contacted again between March 17 and May 6 of 2015 for additional questions.

The survey was conducted on a large scale to develop a more precise understanding of the American religious landscape. The survey was conducted in both Spanish and English with a minimum of 300 interviews per state. The wide net, bilingual nature, and usage of telephones as the main form of communique, allows researchers to estimate that the survey covers 97 percent of non-institutionalized Americans. Though roughly three percent of Americans are not reachable by telephone or do not feature the necessary linguistic skills to participate in the survey, no additional measures were taken to account for this small percentage of the population not represented in the sample.

The large sample size of the research pool allows researchers to take a deeper look into religious groups previously under-studied in smaller surveys. The "https://www.thearda.com/data-archive?fid=RELLAND14" Target="_blank">2014 Religious Landscape study features hundreds of interviews with members of religious groups that make up less than one percent of the American religious sphere. The nature of this survey allows for a nuanced study of religious groups, and their individuals, across the whole of the country.

In 2023, 27.5 percent of Americans were unaffiliated with any religion. A further 13.4 percent of Americans were White evangelical Protestants, and an additional 13.3 percent were White mainline Protestants. Religious trends in the United States Although the United States is still home to the largest number of Christians worldwide, the nation has started to reflect a more diverse religious landscape in recent years. Americans now report a wide range of religious beliefs and backgrounds, in addition to an increasing number of people who are choosing to identify with no religion at all. Studies suggest that many Americans have left their previous religion to instead identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular, with many reasoning that they stopped believing in the religion's teachings, that they didn't approve of negative teachings or treatment of LGBTQ+ people, or that their family was never that religious growing up. Christian controversies Over the last few years, controversies linked to Christian denominations have plagued the nation, including reports of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Christian churches have also been accused of supporting discriminatory actions against LGBTQ+ people and people belonging to other religious groups. In addition, there have been increasing concerns about Christian nationalism, the political ideology that asserts that America was founded to be a Christian nation. Although the majority of Americans still think that declaring the United States a Christian nation would go against the U.S. Constitution, studies found that most Republicans would be in favor of this change.

According to a survey conducted from 2022 to 2023, ** percent of Asian Americans identified as Christian in the United States, while ** percent identified with no religion. In comparison, ** percent of Asian Americans also identified as either Buddhist or Hindu.

Belief in God has historically been a persistent aspect of American society, with ** percent of surveyed Americans saying that they believed in God in 1944. However, the share of Americans who believed in God has decreased steadily over time after reaching a peak of ** percent in the ***** and ***. As of 2022, the share of Americans who believed in God had fallen to ** percent. Religious participation and practice There has been a significant reduction in participation within religious organizations in the United States, with Americans found less likely to attend church or become members of a church. While ** percent of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple in 1999, this number dropped to 47 percent by 2021. This decline in church membership may have contributed to Americans’ waning belief in God, as continuous religious practice has been attributed to greater faith and religious conviction. ** percent of Americans who attended religious services weekly believed that God hears prayers and intervenes, in comparison to 28 percent of Americans who seldom or never attended religious services. Younger Americans less likely to believe While most U.S. adults still believe in God, younger Americans are less likely to share this belief. Older generations of Americans were more likely to participate in religious services while growing up, with ** percent of the Silent Generation reporting that they attended Sunday school or another religious education program, while Generation Z were more likely to have lacked any sort of religious upbringing in the United States. In 2021, 15 percent of Gen Z said that they had never been religious.

Belief in God has historically been a persistent aspect of American society, with 96 percent of surveyed Americans saying that they believed in God in 1944. However, the share of Americans who believed in God has decreased steadily over time after reaching a peak of 98 percent in the 1950s and 60s. As of 2022, the share of Americans who believed in God had fallen to 81 percent. Religious participation and practice There has been a significant reduction in participation within religious organizations in the United States, with Americans found less likely to attend church or become members of a church. While 70 percent of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple in 1999, this number dropped to 47 percent by 2021. This decline in church membership may have contributed to Americans’ waning belief in God, as continuous religious practice has been attributed to greater faith and religious conviction. 74 percent of Americans who attended religious services weekly believed that God hears prayers and intervenes, in comparison to 28 percent of Americans who seldom or never attended religious services. Younger Americans less likely to believe While most U.S. adults still believe in God, younger Americans are less likely to share this belief. Older generations of Americans were more likely to participate in religious services while growing up, with 68 percent of the Silent Generation reporting that they attended Sunday school or another religious education program, while Generation Z were more likely to have lacked any sort of religious upbringing in the United States. In 2021, 15 percent of Gen Z said that they had never been religious.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Christian County, IL (S1701ACS017021) from 2012 to 2023 about Christian County, IL; IL; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, 74 percent of all U.S. adults said that they believed in God while 25 percent of Americans who identified with no religion shared this belief. In comparison, 94 percent of Americans who were Protestant or other Christian and 85 percent of Americans who were Catholic also said that they believed in God in that year.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Christian County, KY (S1701ACS021047) from 2012 to 2023 about Christian County, KY; Clarksville; KY; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

About this dataset

Context

This list ranks the 7 cities in the Christian County, IL by English population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in each city over the past five years.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, including:

• 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Variables / Data Columns

• Rank by English Population: This column displays the rank of city in the Christian County, IL by their English population, using the most recent ACS data available.
• City: The City for which the rank is shown in the previous column.
• English Population: The English population of the city is shown in this column.
• % of Total City Population: This shows what percentage of the total city population identifies as English. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• % of Total Christian County English Population: This tells us how much of the entire Christian County, IL English population lives in that city. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• 5 Year Rank Trend: This column displays the rank trend across the last 5 years.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.