Mainline Protestantism

About a quarter of U.S. adults regularly watch religious services online or on TV, and most of them are highly satisfied with the experience. About two-in-ten Americans (21%) use apps or websites to help with reading scripture.

Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But highly religious Americans are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.

In the new survey, the Center attempted for the first time to pose some of these philosophical questions to a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, finding that Americans largely blame random chance – along with people’s own actions and the way society is structured – for human suffering, while relatively few believers blame God or voice doubts about the existence of God for this reason.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

The church is one of the few major mainline Protestant denominations in the country that currently does not sanction same-sex marriage.

The history of the Episcopal Church is closely tied to the history of the United States. On the eve of the Episcopal Church’s 2018 General Convention, here are five facts about Episcopalians.

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

In recent years, the share of Americans who identify with mainline Protestantism has been shrinking significantly, a trend driven partly by generational change.