Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?

Acknowledgments

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/religion.

This report includes new analysis of data from the 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study (RLS). The RLS was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

Primary researcher

Becka A. Alper, Senior Researcher

Research team

Alan Cooperman, Director, Religion Research
Gregory A. Smith, Senior Associate Director, Research
Besheer Mohamed, Principal Researcher
Chip Rotolo, Research Associate
Patricia Tevington, Research Associate
Asta Kallo, Research Assistant
Meghan Rustemeyer, Research Assistant
Justin Nortey, Former Research Analyst

Methods team

Courtney Kennedy, Vice President, Methods and Innovation
Ashley Amaya, Associate Director, Survey Methods
Andrew Mercer, Principal Methodologist
Dorene Asare-Marfo, Senior Panel Manager
Dana Popky, Associate Panel Manager
Anna Brown, Research Methodologist
Arnold Lau, Research Methodologist
Thomas May, Former Intern

Editorial and graphic design

Jeff Diamant, Senior Writer/Editor
Rebecca Leppert, Editorial Specialist
Bill Webster, Senior Information Graphics Designer

Communications and web publishing

Hannah Taber, Communications Manager
Justine Coleman, Associate Digital Producer
Talia Price, Communications Associate

RECOMMENDED CITATION:

Alper, Becka A., Patricia Tevington, Asta Kallo and Jeff Diamant. 2025. “Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?” Pew Research Center. doi: 10.58094/52kn-8828.

Icon for promotion number 1

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings

Thank you for subscribing!

Processing…