Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The 2014 Religious Landscape Study has several unique strengths. Its large sample size (n=35,071) and detailed, branching set of questions about religious identity make it possible to estimate the size of a wide variety of religious groups with a high degree of precision. The large sample also makes it possible to describe the characteristics of […]
Social hostilities toward religion declined in 2013, while government restrictions on religious beliefs and practices remained level. Harassment of Jews, however, reached a seven-year high.
More than nine-in-ten members of the newly elected 114th Congress are Christian — a significantly higher share than is seen in the general population. However, many other major religious groups are represented in the body, including Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and the unaffiliated.
Previous research has shown clear differences in the religious identity, beliefs and practices of people from different demographic groups. Young adults tend to be less religiously affiliated than older people. Women tend to be more religiously affiliated than men. There are far more Catholics among Latinos than among people from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. […]
Government Restrictions by Region The median level of government restrictions on religion increased in two of the five regions (Asia-Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa) and decreased in two regions (Middle East-North Africa and Europe). It stayed the same in the Americas. In the latest year studied, the Middle East and North Africa continued to have the […]
As of 2010, there were nearly 14 million Jews around the world. In 2050, the Jewish population is expected to number about 16 million. The share of the world’s population that is Jewish – 0.2% – is expected to remain about the same in 2050 as it was in 2010. Over the next few decades, […]
The centerpiece of Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study is a nationally representative telephone survey conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014, among a sample of 35,071 U.S. adults. Approximately 60% of the interviews were conducted with respondents reached on cellphones (n=21,160) and 40% were completed on landlines (n=13,911). A minimum of 300 interviews were conducted […]
Display: Number | Percentage Religion 87th 91st 96th 101st 106th 111th 112th 113th 114th (’61-’62) (’69-’71) (’79-’80) (’89-’90) (’99-’00) (’09-’10) (’11-’12) (’13-’14) (’15-’16) Protestant 398 379 340 325 315 295 307 299 306 Baptist 62 53 55 55 70 66 68 73 79 Methodist 97 88 78 78 64 57 51 46 45 Presbyterian 73 […]
Display: Number | Percentage Religion 87th 91st 96th 101st 106th 111th 112th 113th 114th Net change (’61-’62) (’69-’71) (’79-’80) (’89-’90) (’99-’00) (’09-’10) (’11-’12) (’13-’14) (’15-’16) 87th-114th Protestant 74.8% 70.9% 63.7% 60.7% 59.0% 55.1% 57.4% 56.1% 57.2% -17.6% Baptist 11.7% 9.9% 10.3% 10.3% 13.1% 12.4% 12.7% 13.7% 14.8% +3.1% Methodist 18.2% 16.5% 14.6% 14.6% 12.0% 10.7% […]