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 statistic shows the religious affiliation of the population in the United States in 2017, by age. In 2017, about 38 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years old were unaffiliated with any religious belief.

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.

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, 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 #12 (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.

This statistic shows the share of adults in the United States affiliated to a religious denomination in January 2017, by race/ethnicity. As of January 2017, 15 percent of Asian or Pacific Islanders in the United States identified themselves as Hindu.

This dataset is the centerpiece of Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study, a nationally representative telephone survey conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014, among a sample of 35,071 U.S. adults. Approximately 60 percent of the interviews were conducted with respondents reached on cellphones (n=21,160) and 40 percent were completed on landlines (n=13,911). A minimum of 300 interviews were conducted in every state and the District of Columbia. Interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish. The survey is estimated to cover 97 percent of the non-institutionalized U.S. adult population; 3 percent of U.S. adults are not reachable by telephone or do not speak English or Spanish well enough to participate in the survey. No adjustments have been made to the data to attempt to account for the small amount of non-coverage.

The size of the national sample is unusually large for a religion survey. There are two main reasons for this. First, the large sample size makes it possible to estimate the religious composition of the U.S. with a high degree of precision. After taking into account the survey's design effect (based on the sample design and survey weights), the margin of error for the results based on the full sample is +/- 0.6 percentage points.

Second, the large sample size makes it possible to describe the characteristics of a wide variety of religious groups, including relatively small groups that cannot be analyzed using data from smaller surveys. With more than 35,000 respondents in total, the Religious Landscape Study includes interviews with roughly 350 in religious groups that account for just 1 percent of the U.S. population, and with 100 or more people in religious groups that are as small as three-tenths of 1 percent of the overall population. For instance, the study includes interviews with 245 Jehovah's Witnesses, a group that accounts for less than 1 percent of the U.S. population and is typically represented by only a few dozen respondents in smaller surveys.

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 Total Construction Spending: Religious in the United States (TLRELCONS) from Jan 2002 to Jun 2025 about religion, expenditures, construction, and USA.

The USA: Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 76 percent, a decline from 76.3 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 51.1 percent, based on data from 145 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2013 is 82.8 percent. The minimum value, 76 percent, was reached in 2013 while the maximum of 89.6 percent was recorded in 1960.

According to a study conducted between July 2023 and March 2024, the majority of the Jewish population in the United States was white, at ** percent. Christians and Christian denominations, such as Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Orthodox Christians, Protestants, and Catholics, were also made up of white majorities, in addition to those who identified as religiously unaffiliated, including atheists, agnostic, or nothing in particular.

The United States Census of Religious Bodies is, as the name suggests, a census of religious organizations, not a census of individuals (the U.S. Census collected data on religious organizations through the 1936 census). This census provides measures of the number of members in various denominations, by geographic unit. This is the fourth of four complete surveys on the subject of religious membership undertaken by the "https://www.census.gov/" Target="_blank">U.S. Bureau of the Census (preceded by the 1906, 1916, and 1926, censuses). The data are organized by state (states are the cases).

The USA: Catholic Christians as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 24 percent, unchanged from 24 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 43.2 percent, based on data from 84 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2013 is 24 percent. The minimum value, 23.9 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 24 percent was recorded in 1983.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Total Private Construction Spending: Religious in the United States (PRRELCON) from Jan 1993 to Jun 2025 about religion, expenditures, construction, private, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Total Private Construction Spending: Religious in the United States (MPCV06XXS) from Feb 2002 to Jun 2025 about religion, expenditures, construction, private, and USA.

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.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the population of Pass Christian by gender, including both male and female populations. This dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Pass Christian across both sexes and to determine which sex constitutes the majority.

Key observations

There is a slight majority of female population, with 52.36% of total population being female. Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2018-2022 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2018-2022 5-Year Estimates.

Scope of gender :

Please note that American Community Survey asks a question about the respondents current sex, but not about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth. The question is intended to capture data for biological sex, not gender. Respondents are supposed to respond with the answer as either of Male or Female. Our research and this dataset mirrors the data reported as Male and Female for gender distribution analysis. No further analysis is done on the data reported from the Census Bureau.

Variables / Data Columns

• Gender: This column displays the Gender (Male / Female)
• Population: The population of the gender in the Pass Christian is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each gender as a proportion of Pass Christian total population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

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/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Pass Christian Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

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 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 "/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.

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 average for 2013 based on 20 countries was 90.1 percent. The highest value was in Brazil: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Cuba: 52 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.