Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?
A majority of adults still identify with their childhood religion, but 35% don’t. Read about when and why Americans may switch faiths or stay.
Christianity
All
Christianity
Publications
-
-
Religion Holds Steady in America
Analysis of our polls and other data shows no clear evidence of a religious revival among young adults. Read more about religiousness by age and gender.
-
Many religions are heavily concentrated in a few countries
Half of the world’s population lives in just seven countries. But some of the world’s religious groups are even more concentrated than that.
-
If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ religious affiliations
If the U.S. had 100 people, 62 would be Christians, including 40 Protestants, 19 Catholics, two Latter-day Saints and two who identify with other Christian groups.
-
Growing Share of U.S. Adults Say Religion Is Gaining Influence in American Life
Americans’ views of religion’s role in society have grown more positive in recent years. But many feel their religious beliefs conflict with the mainstream.
-
More than 8 in 10 U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo favorably
U.S. Catholics are still getting to know Pope Leo XIV. But they like what they’ve seen so far, according to our recent survey.
-
The number of Christian-majority countries fell between 2010 and 2020
Countries that lost their Christian majorities all saw growing percentages of religiously unaffiliated people.
-
Support for Christian prayer in U.S. public schools varies widely by state
Just over half of U.S. adults (52%) say they favor allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus.
-
47% of U.S. Adults Have a Personal or Family Connection to Catholicism
Nearly half of U.S. adults are connected to Catholicism. Read about going to Mass, Communion, confession and more.
-
Video: How much ‘religious switching’ is there in the U.S.?
35% of U.S. adults no longer identify with the religion in which they were raised – that’s about 90 million people who have changed their religious identities.
