Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Since the 1990s, large numbers of Americans have left Christianity to join the growing ranks of U.S. adults who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” If recent trends in religious switching continue, Christians could make up less than half of the U.S. population within a few decades.
The data in this report comes mainly from three different sources: The aggregated set of all of the random-digit dial (RDD) telephone surveys the Center conducted between January 2019 and July 2020; the annual profile survey (conducted Aug. 3 to 16, 2020) the Center administers to respondents in its American Trends Panel (ATP), which is […]
A majority of U.S. adults think religious leaders have high or very high ethical standards (65%). And among those who attend religious services at least a few times a year, an even larger share have similarly positive ratings about the ethical behavior of the clergy at their congregation (88%). The survey also finds that a […]
A large majority of Americans feel that religion is losing influence in public life, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey.
The survey included a few questions about interpersonal trust, asking respondents about the trustworthiness of religious and nonreligious people, and about how often they talk with other people about their religious beliefs. When it comes to bestowing trust, most Americans do not care whether someone is religious. Fully two-thirds of U.S. adults say nonreligious people […]
This report was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation. This report is a collaborative effort based on […]