Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study: 3.0.0

Religious Landscape Study

People who say the statement “God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity’s benefit” somewhat describes their views

Among adults who say the statement “God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity’s benefit” somewhat describes their views …

Religious composition

2023-24
2014
2007
Christians
of adults who say the statement "God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity's benefit" somewhat describes their views identify as Christians.
  • Evangelical Protestant
    16%
    • Baptist family (evangelical trad.)
      5%
      • Southern Baptist Convention
        3%
      • Independent Baptist (evangelical trad.)
        2%
      • Missionary Baptist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
      • Conservative Baptist Association of America
        <1%
      • Free Will Baptist
        <1%
      • General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
        <1%
      • Other Baptist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Methodist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
      • Global Methodist Church
        <1%
      • Other Methodist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Nondenominational family (evangelical trad.)
      4%
      • Nondenominational evangelical
        2%
      • Nondenominational fundamentalist
        1%
      • Nondenominational charismatic
        1%
      • Interdenominational (evangelical trad.)
        1%
      • Community Church (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
      • Other nondenominational (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Lutheran family (evangelical trad.)
      1%
      • Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
        1%
      • Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
        <1%
      • Other Lutheran (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Presbyterian family (evangelical trad.)
      1%
      • Presbyterian Church in America
        <1%
      • Other Presbyterian (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Pentecostal family (evangelical trad.)
      1%
      • Assemblies of God
        <1%
      • Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
        <1%
      • Foursquare Church
        <1%
      • Pentecostal Church of God
        <1%
      • Pentecostal Holiness Church
        <1%
      • Calvary Chapel
        <1%
      • Apostolic Pentecostal (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
      • Nondenominational Pentecostal (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
      • United Pentecostal Church International
        <1%
      • Other Pentecostal (evangelical trad.)
        1%
    • Episcopalian/Anglican family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
    • Restorationist family (evangelical trad.)
      1%
      • Churches of Christ
        1%
      • Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
        <1%
      • Other Restorationist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Congregationalist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
      • Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
        <1%
      • Other Congregationalist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Holiness family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
      • Church of the Nazarene
        <1%
      • Wesleyan Church
        <1%
      • Free Methodist Church
        <1%
      • Christian and Missionary Alliance
        <1%
      • Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
        <1%
      • Other Holiness (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Reformed family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
      • Christian Reformed Church
        <1%
      • Other Reformed (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Adventist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
      • Seventh-day Adventist
        <1%
      • Other Adventist (evangelical trad.)
        <1%
    • Anabaptist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
    • Pietist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
    • Friends family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
    • Other evangelical/Fundamentalist family (evangelical trad.)
      <1%
    • Nonspecific Protestant family (evangelical trad.)
      1%
      • Nonspecific/Other Protestant family (evangelical trad.)
        1%
  • Mainline Protestant
    17%
    • Baptist family (mainline trad.)
      2%
      • American Baptist Churches USA
        1%
      • Other Baptist (mainline trad.)
        1%
    • Methodist family (mainline trad.)
      4%
      • United Methodist Church
        4%
      • Other Methodist (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Nondenominational family (mainline trad.)
      1%
      • Interdenominational (mainline trad.)
        1%
      • Other nondenominational (mainline trad.)
        1%
    • Lutheran family (mainline trad.)
      3%
      • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
        2%
      • Other Lutheran (mainline trad.)
        1%
    • Presbyterian family (mainline trad.)
      1%
      • Presbyterian Church (USA)
        1%
      • Other Presbyterian (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Episcopalian/Anglican family (mainline trad.)
      2%
      • Episcopal Church
        2%
      • Anglican Church
        <1%
      • Other Episcopalian/Anglican (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Restorationist family (mainline trad.)
      <1%
      • Disciples of Christ
        <1%
      • Other Restorationist (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Congregationalist family (mainline trad.)
      1%
      • United Church of Christ
        1%
      • Other Congregationalist (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Reformed family (mainline trad.)
      <1%
      • Reformed Church in America
        <1%
      • Other Reformed (mainline trad.)
        <1%
    • Anabaptist family (mainline trad.)
      <1%
    • Friends family (mainline trad.)
      <1%
    • Nonspecific Protestant family (mainline trad.)
      3%
      • Nonspecific/Other Protestant family (mainline trad.)
        3%
  • Historically Black Protestant
    4%
    • Baptist family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      3%
      • National Baptist Convention of America
        <1%
      • National Baptist Convention, USA
        1%
      • Progressive National Baptist Convention
        <1%
      • Independent Baptist (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        <1%
      • Missionary Baptist (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        <1%
      • Other Baptist (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        1%
    • Methodist family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      <1%
      • African Methodist Episcopal Church
        <1%
      • African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
        <1%
      • Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
        <1%
      • Other Methodist (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        <1%
    • Pentecostal family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      <1%
      • Church of God in Christ
        <1%
      • Apostolic Pentecostal (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        <1%
      • Other Pentecostal (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        <1%
    • Holiness family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      <1%
    • Nondenominational family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      <1%
    • Nonspecific Protestant family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
      1%
      • Nonspecific/Other Protestant family (historically Black Protestant trad.)
        1%
  • Catholic
    24%
  • Latter-day Saint (Mormon)
    1%
  • Orthodox Christian
    1%
  • Jehovah's Witness
    <1%
  • Other Christian
    1%
    • Metaphysical family
      <1%
      • Spiritualist
        <1%
      • Unity Church
        <1%
      • Other metaphysical Christian ("Other Christian" trad.)
        <1%
    • Others in the "Other Christian" tradition
      <1%
Other religions
of adults who say the statement "God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity's benefit" somewhat describes their views identify with other religions.
  • Jewish
    2%
  • Muslim
    1%
  • Buddhist
    2%
  • Hindu
    1%
  • Other world religions
    <1%
  • Something else
    2%
    • Unitarians and other liberal faiths
      1%
      • Unitarian
        <1%
      • Humanist
        <1%
      • Deist
        <1%
      • Spiritual but not religious
        1%
      • Eclectic/A bit of everything/"I have my own beliefs"
        <1%
      • Other in the "Unitarian and other liberal faiths" family
        <1%
    • New Age
      1%
      • Pagan or Wiccan
        1%
      • Other in the New Age family
        <1%
    • Native American religions
      <1%
Religiously unaffiliated
of adults who say the statement "God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity's benefit" somewhat describes their views identify as religiously unaffiliated.
  • Atheist
    <1%
  • Agnostic
    4%
  • Nothing in particular
    23%

Note: 1% did not answer the question. Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Margin of error for 2023-24 figures based on adults who say the statement “God gave humans the right to use the Earth, including the plants and animals, for humanity’s benefit” somewhat describes their views is ±2.1 percentage points.

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Related RLS content

Recommended citation: Pew Research Center. 2025. “2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study Interactive Database.” doi: 10.58094/3zs9-jc14.