This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/.
This report is based on Pew Research Center’s National Public Opinion Reference Surveys (NPORS) (conducted annually from 2020 through 2026), the Center’s 2025 Cross-Sectional Engagement Survey, the Center’s three Religious Landscape Studies (RLS) (conducted in 2007, 2014 and 2023-24), and several surveys conducted on the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP).
The Religious Landscape Study (RLS) was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from Lilly Endowment Inc., Templeton Religion Trust, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. 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.
Research team
Gregory A. Smith, Senior Associate Director, Religion Research
Chip Rotolo, Senior Researcher
Alan Cooperman, Director, Religion Research
Becka A. Alper, Senior Researcher
Besheer Mohamed, Principal Researcher
Patricia Tevington, Research Associate
Asta Kallo, Research Analyst
Meghan Rustemeyer, Research Assistant
Methods team
Ashley Amaya, Associate Director, Survey Methods
Scott Keeter, Senior Survey Advisor
Andrew Mercer, Principal Methodologist
Anna Brown, Senior Survey Manager
Deji Suolang, Research Methodologist
Dorene Asare-Marfo, Senior Panel Manager
Dana Popky, Associate Panel Manager
Editorial and graphic design
Jeff Diamant, Senior Writer/Editor
Bill Webster, Senior Information Graphics Designer
David Kent, Senior Editorial Specialist
Communications and web publishing
Hannah Taber, Communications Manager
DeVonte Smith, Communications Associate
Joy Li, Assistant Digital Producer
Others at Pew Research Center who contributed to this report include Neha Sahgal, vice president of research; Conrad Hackett, associate director of religion research and senior demographer; Courtney Kennedy, former vice president, methods and innovation; Jocelyn Kiley, director of politics research; and Arnold Lau, former research methodologist.
In addition, the Center is grateful to expert advisers who provided valuable advice on this project: Tricia Bruce, Director of Social Science Research at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies; Mark Chaves, Anne Firor Scott Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology; David Eagle, Associate Research Professor of Global Health and Sociology at Duke University; Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame; and David Voas, Emeritus Professor of Social Science at University College London.
