The percentage of the US population identifying as Christian is approximately 63% as of recent studies, but this number is subject to change and can be explored further at WHAT.EDU.VN. This figure reflects a notable shift in America’s religious landscape over the past few decades. Gain insights into shifting religious demographics, secularization impacts, and faith evolution.
1. What Percentage of Americans Identify as Christian?
Approximately 63% of adults in the United States identify as Christian, reflecting a decline from about 90% in the early 1990s. This shift is primarily due to more adults switching out of the religion they were raised in and becoming religiously unaffiliated. For deeper insights and related inquiries, explore WHAT.EDU.VN.
1.1. Historical Context: Christian Affiliation in the US
In the early 1990s, about 90% of U.S. adults identified as Christian. This widespread Christian identity was almost taken for granted. However, there has been a significant shift in the religious landscape of the United States over the past few decades. The decline in Christian affiliation is a notable trend that warrants further examination.
1.2. Current Statistics: Christian Population in the US
Today, approximately 63% of adults in the U.S. identify as Christian. This represents a significant decrease compared to the early 1990s. The change is largely due to a growing number of adults who were raised in a religion switching to become religiously unaffiliated.
1.3. Factors Contributing to the Decline of Christian Affiliation
Several factors contribute to the decline of Christian affiliation in the U.S. These include:
- Religious Switching: A steadily shrinking share of young adults raised Christian have retained their religious identity into adulthood.
- Increasing “Stickiness” of Non-Affiliation: A declining percentage of people raised without a religion have converted or taken on a religion later in life.
- Generational “Snowball” Effect: Each generation sees progressively fewer adults retaining their Christian identity, leading to fewer parents raising their children in Christian households.
- Disaffiliation Among Older Adults: Starting in the mid-1990s, it became more common for adults in middle age and beyond to discard their Christian identity.
- Societal Changes: Factors such as increasing existential security, association of Christianity with conservative politics, declining trust in religious institutions, clergy scandals, rising rates of religious intermarriage, and smaller families also play a role.
2. What Are the Main Denominations Within Christianity in the US?
The main Christian denominations in the US include Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, and Orthodox. Protestantism is the most prevalent, with various denominations like Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran. Catholicism represents a significant portion as well. Discover more at WHAT.EDU.VN.
2.1. Protestant Denominations
Protestant denominations form the largest segment of Christianity in the U.S. These denominations include:
- Baptist: Known for their emphasis on baptism by immersion and the autonomy of local churches.
- Methodist: Characterized by their focus on personal piety and social action.
- Lutheran: Rooted in the teachings of Martin Luther, emphasizing salvation through faith alone.
- Presbyterian: Emphasizing the sovereignty of God and the importance of covenant theology.
- Episcopalian: Part of the Anglican Communion, known for its liturgical worship and hierarchical structure.
2.2. Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is another significant Christian denomination in the U.S. It is characterized by its hierarchical structure, sacramental theology, and global presence. The Catholic Church has a substantial following in the U.S., with a diverse membership comprising various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
2.3. Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Mormonism, officially known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a distinct Christian denomination with unique theological beliefs and practices. Mormonism originated in the U.S. in the 19th century and has since expanded globally.
2.4. Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity represents a smaller but significant segment of Christianity in the U.S. Orthodox churches trace their origins back to the early Christian Church and maintain ancient traditions in worship and theology.
3. How Has the Percentage of Christians in the US Changed Over Time?
The percentage of Christians in the US has decreased significantly from about 90% in the early 1990s to approximately 63% today. This decline is attributed to factors such as religious switching, generational changes, and societal shifts. Explore further at WHAT.EDU.VN for detailed statistics.
3.1. Historical Trends in Christian Affiliation
Historically, Christianity has been the dominant religion in the U.S. For much of the 20th century, the vast majority of Americans identified as Christian. However, data from the General Social Survey (GSS) indicates a notable shift in recent decades.
In 1972, when the GSS first asked Americans about their religious preference, 90% identified as Christian, and only 5% were religiously unaffiliated. Over the next two decades, the share of “nones” (those with no religious affiliation) slowly increased, reaching 9% in 1993.
3.2. Acceleration of Disaffiliation in the 1990s
The 1990s marked a turning point in the religious landscape of the U.S. Disaffiliation from Christianity began to accelerate during this period. In 1996, the share of unaffiliated Americans jumped to 12%, and by 1998, it had reached 14%. This growth has continued, with 29% of Americans now reporting they have “no religion.”
3.3. Pew Research Center Data Since 2007
Pew Research Center has been measuring religious identity since 2007, using a slightly different question wording: “What is your present religion, if any?” The Center’s surveys also use a different set of response options.
Since 2007, the percentage of adults who identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular” has grown from 16% to 29%. During this time, the share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian has fallen from 78% to 63%.
3.4. Theories Explaining the Disaffiliation Trend
Several theories attempt to explain why disaffiliation sped up so much in the 1990s and how long this trend might continue. These include:
- Existential Security: Some scholars argue that secularization is the result of increasing “existential security.” As societal conditions improve and scientific advances allow people to live longer lives with fewer worries about meeting basic needs, they have less need for religion to cope with insecurity.
- Political Associations: Others suggest that the association of Christianity with conservative politics in the U.S. has driven many liberals away from the faith.
- Declining Trust in Religious Institutions: Decreasing trust in religious institutions, clergy scandals, rising rates of religious intermarriage, and smaller families have also been cited as contributing factors.
4. What Are the Demographics of Christians in the US?
Christians in the US vary demographically. While still dominant among older adults, there’s a decline among younger generations. More women than men retain their Christian identity, and there are geographic variances, with higher representation in the South. College graduates are slightly less likely to remain Christian. Gain insights at WHAT.EDU.VN.
4.1. Age Demographics
U.S. adults who have moved away from Christianity are younger, on average, than those who have remained Christian after a Christian upbringing. More than a quarter of former Christians (27%) are under 30, compared with 14% of all adults who were raised Christian and remain Christian. This age pattern aligns with a decades-long trend in which each cohort of young adults is less religiously affiliated than the preceding one.
4.2. Gender Demographics
Americans who have moved away from Christianity are more likely to be men, while women are more likely to retain their Christian identity. A slight majority of U.S. adults who were raised Christian and are now unaffiliated (54%) are male. Among people who have remained Christian, 57% are women.
4.3. Education Demographics
People who have become unaffiliated after a Christian upbringing are a little more likely to have graduated college than those who remain Christian, with 35% and 31%, respectively, holding college degrees. In the U.S., people with higher levels of educational attainment tend to be less religious by some traditional measures, such as how often they pray or attend religious services.
4.4. Political Demographics
Seven-in-ten adults who were raised Christian but are now unaffiliated are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, compared with 43% of those who remained Christian and 51% of U.S. adults overall. Some scholars argue that disaffiliation from Christianity is driven by an association between Christianity and political conservatism that has intensified in recent decades.
4.5. Geographic Demographics
People who have left Christianity are underrepresented in the South, where 33% of former Christians live, compared with 42% of people who have remained Christian and 38% of U.S. adults overall. Those who have disaffiliated after being raised Christian are more likely than others to live in the West (28% live there, compared with 20% of those who remain Christian and 23% of all U.S. adults). U.S. adults tend to be more religious in the South and less so in the West and Northeast.
5. What Is the Generational Impact on Christian Affiliation in the US?
Each generation in the US sees fewer adults retaining their Christian identity. Younger adults are less likely to remain Christian compared to older generations. This trend is fueled by switching patterns that have “snowballed” from generation to generation since the 1990s. Investigate at WHAT.EDU.VN.
5.1. Generational “Snowball” Effect
Religious disaffiliation in the U.S. is being fueled by switching patterns that started “snowballing” from generation to generation in the 1990s. The core population of “nones” has an increasingly “sticky” identity as it rolls forward, and it is gaining a lot more people than it is shedding, in a dynamic that has a kind of demographic momentum.
5.2. Christian Identity Retention Rates
With each generation, progressively fewer adults retain the Christian identity they were raised with, which in turn means fewer parents are raising their children in Christian households. One way of gauging the momentum behind the U.S. switching trend is to look at the rate at which Americans retain the religion in which they were raised, as opposed to switching out.
5.3. Comparison of Retention Rates Across Generations
Until recently, Christian identity was stickier than unaffiliated identity. This means that the share of people who remained Christian after being raised as Christians was greater than the share of people who remained unaffiliated after being raised with no religion.
Today, Christianity still is the stickier affiliation for older Americans. But among younger adults, the unaffiliated identity has become the stickier one. Among people who are 40 and older, 80% of those raised as Christians are still Christian today, compared with just 56% of those who were raised unaffiliated (in childhood) and still do not identify with a religion today (in adulthood).
5.4. Analysis of Retention Patterns by Birth Decade
An analysis of GSS data by birth decade shows a similar pattern:
- Roughly 90% of people who were born in the 1960s and raised Christian were still Christian when they turned 30.
- Among those born in the 1970s, fewer than 85% remained Christian at 30.
- Among those born in the 1980s, it is about 80%.
- Too few of those born in the 1990s have turned 30 to estimate their switching patterns, but Christians in this youngest cohort appear to be disaffiliating even more than older cohorts.
6. How Does Religious Switching Affect the Percentage of Christians in the US?
Religious switching significantly impacts the percentage of Christians in the US. The increasing number of adults switching out of Christianity to become religiously unaffiliated is a primary driver of the decline in Christian affiliation. Delve deeper at WHAT.EDU.VN.
6.1. Switching as a Primary Driver of Change
Switching is the primary, but by no means the only, process causing religious change in the U.S. Populations can grow or shrink through a few other mechanisms. Patterns of religious transmission, migration, and fertility explain some of the shift in the religious landscape in recent decades.
6.2. Disaffiliation Among Young Christians
The “snowballing” dynamic is being driven by an acceleration in switching among young Christians – those ages 15 to 29. People under 30 tend to grapple with identities of all kinds, and young adulthood is often a time of major change, when many people leave their parents’ household, start careers, and form lasting romantic partnerships.
6.3. Disaffiliation Among Older Adults
Starting in the mid-1990s, it became more common for adults in middle age and beyond to discard Christian identity. Before that, changing religions after 30 was rare.
6.4. Factors Influencing Switching Patterns
Several factors influence religious switching patterns:
- Age: Younger adults are more likely to switch out of Christianity.
- Gender: Men are more likely to switch out of Christianity than women.
- Education: People with higher levels of education are slightly more likely to switch out of Christianity.
- Politics: Those who identify as Democrats or lean Democratic are more likely to switch out of Christianity.
- Geography: People living in the West are more likely to switch out of Christianity than those in the South.
7. What Role Does Religious Transmission Play in the Percentage of Christians in the US?
Religious transmission, the passing of religious identity from parents to children, plays a crucial role. The share of Christians is declining partly because religion is not always transmitted by Christian parents to their children. Learn more at WHAT.EDU.VN.
7.1. Definition of Religious Transmission
Religious identities are considered to be “transmitted” when children are raised in their parents’ religion and identify with it as early adolescents. There are a variety of reasons why children of religiously affiliated parents may be raised without a religion and, therefore, that religion is not transmitted.
7.2. Factors Affecting Religious Transmission
Several factors can affect religious transmission:
- Parents without strong religious commitment.
- Parents with different religions.
- Parents who have decided to let children explore and make decisions about religion on their own.
7.3. Transmission Rates Among Christian Mothers
Today, transmission of the mother’s religious identity happens in the vast majority of families. In a 2019 Pew Research Center survey of teens and their parents, an overwhelming majority of both Christian and unaffiliated mothers had transmitted their religious identities to their teenagers.
More than eight-in-ten Christian mothers had Christian teens, while 17% of their teens identified as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” and less than 1% said they were members of another religious group.
7.4. Impact of Failed Transmission in Christian Families
Even though the shares of Christian and religiously unaffiliated mothers who transmit their affiliation (or lack thereof) are fairly similar, the impact of failed transmission in Christian families is far greater, numerically, because there are more than twice as many Christian mothers as unaffiliated ones.
8. How Does Immigration Influence the Percentage of Christians in the US?
Immigration contributes to U.S. religious change because the composition of immigrants and emigrants is not identical to that of the overall U.S. population. While a majority of immigrants are Christian, the share is lower than the Christian share of the existing US population. Get the facts at WHAT.EDU.VN.
8.1. Immigration Patterns and Religious Composition
About a million immigrants come to the U.S. each year, and one-in-seven people in the U.S. were born elsewhere. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the largest number of recent arrivals to the U.S. were from Mexico and other Christian-majority countries in Central and South America.
8.2. Shifting Origins of Immigrants
Today, new arrivals are more likely to come from Asia. In 2018, the top country of origin for new immigrants was China (which is majority unaffiliated), followed by India (which is majority Hindu). Most of the world’s people who identify as religiously unaffiliated, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain live in either China or India, and this is reflected in the changing profile of immigrants.
8.3. Christian Share Among Immigrants
Christians still make up a majority of immigrants to the U.S., including a majority of immigrants from Mexico, the third-largest source of new immigrants in recent years. But the estimated share of new immigrants who are Christian (55%) is lower than the Christian share of the existing U.S population (64%), meaning that immigration is not boosting the Christian population share.
8.4. Growth of Other Religions Due to Immigration
Immigration is leading to growth in the share of other religions like Hindus and Muslims – 32% of new immigrants are estimated to be adherents of other religions (versus 6% of the U.S. population).
9. How Do Fertility Rates Affect the Percentage of Christians in the US?
Fertility rates among religious groups can cause changes in religious composition over time. In the U.S., religiously unaffiliated women have tended to have fewer children than Christians and women of other religions, influencing the overall percentage. Discover more at WHAT.EDU.VN.
9.1. Fertility Rate Differences Among Religious Groups
Recently, religiously unaffiliated women in the U.S. have tended to have fewer children than Christians and women of other religions. In this report’s models, the average unaffiliated woman is expected to have 1.6 children in her lifetime, while the average Christian woman will have 1.9 children, and the average woman of other religions will have 2.0 children.
9.2. Impact of Fertility Differences on Population Share
Since the U.S. has a very large population and mothers tend to transmit their religions to children, these small differences can add up to noticeable changes over time. However, higher fertility among Christians compared with the religiously unaffiliated has not been nearly enough to maintain the Christian share of the population, although it has slightly offset some of the impact of disaffiliation.
9.3. Transmission of Religion Through Mothers
Mothers tend to transmit their religions to children, making fertility rates a significant factor in the long-term religious composition of the population.
10. How Do Age Structures and Mortality Rates Influence the Percentage of Christians in the US?
The youthfulness of religious groups impacts their future growth. Younger populations have higher shares of people in their reproductive years, providing more growth potential. Christians are older on average, influencing long-term demographic trends. Details at WHAT.EDU.VN.
10.1. Impact of Age Structures
The youthfulness of religious groups has an impact on the future that is intertwined with fertility because young populations have higher shares of people who are in, or soon will enter, their reproductive years. In other words, they have more growth potential than older populations.
10.2. Age Demographics of Christians
Christians are older, on average, than the unaffiliated or people of non-Christian religions. The average U.S. Christian is 43, compared with an average age of 33 among the unaffiliated and 38 among people of other religions.
10.3. Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy
Due to a lack of sufficient data on mortality differences between people in the three religious identity categories studied in this report, each group is assumed to have the same mortality patterns. In other words, for purposes of these projections, life expectancy is assumed to be similar among members of each group at a given age. It is also assumed to be rising over time, despite a dip caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
10.4. Long-Term Demographic Trends
More than 80% of Americans older than 75 are Christian, compared with roughly half of people in their prime childbearing years (ages 20 to 34), many of whom will transmit their religion to the next generation, if past patterns hold. More than 40% of Americans between 20 and 34 are religiously unaffiliated, compared with under 15% of the oldest Americans.
11. What Are the Projections for the Percentage of Christians in the US in the Future?
Future projections suggest a continued decline in the percentage of Christians in the US. Factors such as religious switching, lower retention rates among younger generations, and differing fertility rates contribute to this trend. Stay informed at WHAT.EDU.VN.
11.1. Factors Influencing Future Projections
Several factors influence future projections for the percentage of Christians in the U.S.:
- Religious Switching: Continued disaffiliation from Christianity.
- Retention Rates: Lower retention rates among younger generations.
- Fertility Rates: Differences in fertility rates between religious groups.
- Migration: The religious composition of immigrants and emigrants.
- Age Structures: The youthfulness of different religious groups.
11.2. Potential Scenarios for Future Religious Composition
Depending on the specific assumptions used in projection models, the percentage of Christians in the U.S. could decline to varying degrees in the coming decades. Some models suggest a moderate decline, while others predict a more significant decrease.
11.3. Importance of Monitoring Religious Trends
Monitoring religious trends is essential for understanding the evolving social and cultural landscape of the U.S. Changes in religious affiliation can have significant implications for various aspects of society, including politics, education, and community life.
12. Where Can I Find More Information About Religious Demographics in the US?
For more information about religious demographics in the US, consult resources such as Pew Research Center, the General Social Survey, and academic studies on religion. These sources offer comprehensive data and analysis on religious trends. Further assistance is available at WHAT.EDU.VN.
12.1. Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center conducts regular surveys and publishes reports on religious demographics in the U.S. Their Religion & Public Life project provides valuable insights into the changing religious landscape.
12.2. General Social Survey (GSS)
The General Social Survey (GSS) is a long-running survey that has collected data on religious affiliation in the U.S. since 1972. The GSS data provides a historical perspective on religious trends.
12.3. Academic Studies on Religion
Academic researchers in sociology, religious studies, and demography conduct studies on religious demographics in the U.S. These studies often provide in-depth analysis of the factors driving religious change.
12.4. Other Reliable Sources
Other reliable sources of information about religious demographics in the U.S. include:
- The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB)
- The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
- The National Council of Churches
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