Non-Religion & Secularism

Highlights from the Pew Research report “U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious.” There has been a modest drop in overall rates of belief in God and participation in religious practices. But religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before.

Our new report finds that whether U.S. adults are becoming more or less religious depends, in part, on how religious observance is measured.

There has been a modest drop in overall rates of belief in God and participation in religious practices. But religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before.

The religious face of America is largely a Christian one, with roughly seven-in-ten Americans belonging to that faith. But some of the nation’s biggest metropolitan areas have a very different look.

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%).

Most Christians would be unhappy if a family member married an atheist.

Some of the stigma associated with atheism may be fading as the number of U.S. adults self-identifying as atheist or agnostic rises.