--- title: "10 facts about religion in America" description: "It’s a fascinating time for conversations about faith in the United States, with Pope Francis set to visit, a presidential election on the horizon and major trends reshaping the country’s religious landscape." date: "2015-08-27" authors: - name: "Michael Lipka" job_title: "Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-lipka/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/08/27/10-facts-about-religion-in-america/" categories: - "Abortion" - "Catholicism" - "Christianity" - "Evangelicalism" - "LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences" - "Religion" - "Religion & Politics" - "Religious Freedom & Restrictions" - "Religiously Unaffiliated" --- # 10 facts about religion in America It’s a fascinating time for conversations about faith in the United States, with Pope Francis set to visit next month, a presidential election on the horizon and major trends reshaping [the country’s religious landscape](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/). [![Changing U.S. Religious Landscape](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/05/PF_15.05.05_RLS2_1_310px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/) One of the most important and well-documented shifts taking place over the past decade is the steadily rising share of people who are religiously *unaffiliated* – from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014. As journalists and others gather in Philadelphia for the annual Religion Newswriters Association conference this week, here are 10 other things we’ve learned from our recent research: **Protestants no longer make up a majority of U.S. adults. **Closely tied to the rise of the religious “nones” is the decline of Christians, including Protestants. The U.S. has a long history as a majority Protestant nation, and, as recently as the 2007 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, more than half of U.S. adults (51.3%) identified as Protestants. But that figure has fallen, and our 2014 study found that 46.5% of Americans are now Protestants. [**Religious switching**](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/05/12/chapter-2-religious-switching-and-intermarriage/)** is a common occurrence in the U.S. **Depending on how “religious switching” is defined, as many as 42% of U.S. adults have switched religions. That definition counts switching between Protestant traditions, but even if Protestantism is regarded as a single group, about a third of Americans (34%) identify with a different religious group than the one in which they were raised. There is a [wide range of racial and ethnic diversity](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/07/27/the-most-and-least-racially-diverse-u-s-religious-groups/) among U.S. religious groups and denominations. **Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses are among the most racially and ethnically diverse U.S. religious groups**. The least diverse are the National Baptist Convention, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. [![Catholics Views on Global Warming](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2015/06/PR-2015-06-16_popeEnvironment-00.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/06/16/catholics-divided-over-global-warming/) Before Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment was published in June, **[U.S. Catholics’ views of climate change](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/06/16/catholics-divided-over-global-warming/) mirrored those of Americans overall – including major partisan divisions.** While six-in-ten Catholic Democrats say global warming is caused by humans and that it is a very serious problem, only about a quarter of Catholic Republicans feel the same way. **In a typical week, about one-in-five Americans **[**share their faith online**](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/11/06/religion-and-electronic-media/)**.** This is about the same as the number who tune in to religious talk radio, watch religious TV programs or listen to Christian rock music. **Americans have continued to become more supportive of same-sex marriage.** Aggregated data from 2015 polls show that fully [55% of U.S. adults favor same-sex marriage](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/), which is now legal nationwide following a Supreme Court ruling in June. That represents a rise of 20 percentage points over the last decade or so. Among the major religious groups, White evangelical Protestants are the least supportive of gay marriage (24%), while those without any religious affiliation are the most likely to favor allowing gays and lesbians to wed (82%). Religious freedom or discrimination? A [2014 poll](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/03/30/businesses-serving-same-sex-couples/) found** Americans are divided on the question of whether wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples** for religious reasons, with 47% saying businesses should be able to refuse service and 49% saying establishments should be required to serve same-sex couples. **On another hotly debated social issue – abortion – Americans’ views in the last two decades have **[**largely held steady**](https://www.pewresearch.org/data-trend/domestic-issues/abortion/)**.** A majority of U.S. adults (55%) continue to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. At the same time, four-in-ten say it should be illegal in all or most cases. **Frequency of religious service attendance remains a strong predictor of how people will vote in elections.** In the [2014 midterm elections](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/11/05/how-the-faithful-voted-2014-preliminary-analysis/), exit polls showed that those who attend worship services at least weekly voted for Republicans over Democrats for the House of Representatives by a 58%-to-40% margin. Meanwhile, those who never attend services leaned heavily toward Democrats (62% vs. 36%). Christians continue to make up an overwhelming majority of [members of Congress](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/01/05/faith-on-the-hill/) (92%), compared with 71% of the general public (as of 2014). At the same time,** while 23% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, only one member of Congress (Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.), or 0.2% of that body, claims no religious affiliation.** [![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2014/12/PF_15.01.05__ReligionCongress_political_makeup640px.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/01/05/faith-on-the-hill/)