Beliefs & Practices

We asked thousands of Americans where they find meaning in life. Their responses were rich, thoughtful and varied.

Family is the most common source of meaning in America, but economic, religious and political divides shape where people find meaning in other aspects of life.

The European continent today is split in public attitudes toward religion, minorities and social issues such as gay marriage and legal abortion.

Many U.S. Christians – as well as the religiously unaffiliated – hold “New Age” beliefs, which include belief in reincarnation and astrology.

Research has shown that men in the United States are generally less religious than women. And while this pattern holds true among black Americans, black men are still a highly religious group.

Are you a Sunday Stalwart? Solidly Secular? Or somewhere in between? Take our quiz to find out which one of the religious typology groups is your best match and see how you compare with our nationally representative survey of more than 4,000 U.S. adults.

The religious typology sorts American adults into seven cohesive, like-minded groups based on the religious and spiritual beliefs they share, how actively they practice their faith, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. Use this tool to compare the groups on key topics and demographics.

American adults – both Christian and unaffiliated – are considerably more religious than their European counterparts by a variety of measures. For instance, about two-thirds of U.S. Christians pray daily, compared with a median of just 18% of Christians across 15 European countries.

This new analysis creates a typology that cuts across denominations, sorting Americans into seven groups, or “clusters,” based on their religious practices and values, their views about religion in general, and the sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. Rich Morin, a senior editor at the Center, explains how the study was put together, and discusses the role of cluster analysis in creating the typology.

Most American adults identify with a religion, describing themselves as Protestants, Catholics or Jews, to name just a few examples. But a new Pew Research Center analysis looks at beliefs and behaviors that cut across many religious identities, producing a new and revealing classification, or typology, of religion in America that sorts U.S. adults into seven cohesive groups.