Mainline Protestants make up shrinking number of U.S. adults
In recent years, the share of Americans who identify with mainline Protestantism has been shrinking significantly, a trend driven partly by generational change.
In recent years, the share of Americans who identify with mainline Protestantism has been shrinking significantly, a trend driven partly by generational change.
One big reason evangelical Protestants have not declined at the same rate as other major Christian groups is that they are gaining new converts at a greater rate than they are losing people who were raised in the tradition.
The growth of the religiously unaffiliated in the U.S. is occurring across genders, generations and racial and ethnic groups.
The 35% of Millennials who do not identify with a religion is double the share of unaffiliated Baby Boomers (17%) and more than three times the share of members of the Silent generation (11%).
Christians are declining, both as a share of the U.S. population and in total number, while religious "nones" continue to rise.
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the share of Americans who do not identify with any organized religion is growing. These changes affect all regions in the country and many demographic groups.
Explore the geographic distribution and demographics of America's major religious groups.
If current demographic trends hold, by 2050, Muslims are projected to be more numerous in the U.S. than people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion.
While the degree of racial segregation within religious congregations remains high, some houses of worship in the U.S. have become more diverse in recent years, according to a National Congregations study.
Washington, May 7, 2014 — Although most Hispanics in the United States continue to belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the Catholic share of the Hispanic population is declining, while rising numbers of Hispanics say they are Protestant or unaffiliated with any religion. Indeed, nearly one-in-four Hispanic adults (24%) are now former Catholics, according to […]