Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
7 Figures: Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population
7 Figures: Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population
Jan 27, 2026 5:05 AM

The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an a new survey by the Pew Research Center pares the religious landscape of 2015 to 2007. Here are seven figures you should know from the report.

1. Between 2007 and 2014, the share of the U.S. population that identifies as Christian fell from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent, driven primarily by declines among mainline Protestant and Catholics.

2. The rise in intermarriage appears to be linked with the growth of the religiously unaffiliated population. Nearly one-in-five people surveyed who got married since 2010 are either religiously unaffiliated respondents who married a Christian spouse or Christians who married an unaffiliated spouse. By contrast, just 5 percent of people who got married before 1960 fit this profile.

3. Catholics appear to be declining both as a percentage of the population and in absolute numbers. The new survey indicates there are about 51 million Catholic adults in the U.S. today, roughly 3 million fewer than in 2007. But taking margins of error into account, the decline in the number of Catholic adults could be as modest as 1 million.

4. The new survey indicates that evangelical–including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Assemblies of God, Churches of Christ, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church in America, and many nondenominational congregations—now have a total of about 62 million adult adherents. That is an increase of roughly 2 million since 2007, though once the margins of error are taken into account, it is possible that the number of evangelicals may have risen by as many as 5 million or remained essentially unchanged. And evangelical Protestants, while declining slightly as a percentage of the U.S. public, probably have grown in absolute numbers as the overall U.S. population has continued to expand.

5. Of the major subgroups within American Christianity, mainline Protestantism—a tradition that includes the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Churches USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Episcopal Church, among others—appears to have experienced the greatest drop in absolute numbers. In 2007, there were an estimated 41 million mainline Protestant adults in the United States. As of 2014, there are roughly 36 million, a decline of 5 million – although, taking into account the bined margins of error, the number of mainline Protestants may have fallen by as few as 3 million or as many as 7.3 million between 2007 and 2014.

6. The size of the historically black Protestant tradition—which includes the National Baptist Convention, the Church of God in Christ, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Progressive Baptist Convention and others—has remained relatively stable in recent years, at nearly 16 million adults.

7. Christianity – and especially Catholicism – has been losing more adherents through religious switching than it has been gaining. More than 85 percent of American adults were raised Christian, but nearly a quarter of those who were raised Christian no longer identify with Christianity. Former Christians represent 19.2 percent of U.S. adults overall.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
The fallacy of capitalism’s ‘race to the bottom’
The Biden administration proposes a global minimum tax on corporations to end the “global race to the bottom.” Leaving aside the wisdom of letting France tax U.S.-based corporations, this phrase recalls one of the regnant canards of our time: Capitalism inevitably lowers living standards and grinds people down into poverty. The myth of the “race to the bottom” is among the multitudes of errors, distortions, and outright lies of the 1619 Project but has escaped notice, because so few recognize...
Kingdom economics: Work and trade as gift-giving
When reflecting on our economic action,we tend to be overly focused on one side of the exchange: our own benefit, our own profit, our own “piece of the pie.” Our consumer-centered culture happily affirms such an emphasis, routinely promoting a zero-sum vision of the economy and self-centered attitudes about vocation, daily work, and economic exchange. But when we take a step back, we see that our economic interactions also represent real relationships, each offering unique opportunities for love, service, generosity,...
Tim Scott’s response to Joe Biden’s address to Congress: 6 quotes
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress. Scott’s well-received address traversed the full ground of faith, virtue, and economics – openly declaring that ing a Christian transformed my life,” hailing the “the most inclusive economy in my lifetime” under the Trump administration, and stating boldly that “America is not a racist country.” Here are six memorable quotations: 1. America is not a racist country: Hear me...
School shutdowns hurt struggling students, girls the worst: Study
In-person school closures due to COVID-19 lockdowns widened the gap between the rich and poor, a new study conducted by Oxford University has found. While young people of all demographic groups fell behind during the period of remote learning, those from the least educated homes were the hardest hit. Researchers studied elementary students from age 8 to 11 in the Netherlands, because they found the country best suited to endure the pandemic. Dutch schools test students twice a year, and...
Foreign aid pays for Muslim imams to preach the government’s message
All government spending contains items that could best be described as “surreal.” In that category, a Western foreign aid program paid researchers to insert material into the sermons of Muslim imams. The UK allocated £795,463 in taxpayer funds ($1.1 million U.S.) for imams to preach about the dangers of second-hand smoke. Researchers gave anti-smoking talking points to the Islamic religious leaders of 45 mosques in the Mirpur area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the hopes of reducing indoor smoking. “These messages...
Explainer: the ‘global minimum tax’
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said she plans to impose a global minimum tax on U.S. corporations, which she will coordinate with global leaders to stop “a destructive, global race to the bottom.” How will this work; what will it do to petitiveness; and is it constitutional? Here are the facts you need to know. What is a global minimum tax? A global minimum tax would see wealthy nations agree not to lower their tax rates on corporations that are...
The free market vs. the ‘Really Really Free Market’
Recently in Grand Rapids an old idea served as a catalyst for a munity event, the “Really Really Free Market.” This “market” was open to guests where they are free to give and take a range of goods provided munity members and organizations free of charge: Organizer MC Camp said munity-building event feels too good to be true to many, but represents local generosity. They encouraged people to ditch the idea of considering the event “charity” and focus more on...
Bishops: The Equality Act will destroy Christians’ careers
The bishops of the world’s oldest Christian church have condemned the proposed “Equality Act” – not just based on its threat to religious liberty – but also the danger it poses to Christians’ ability to make a living. The “Equality Act” could bar faithful Christians from serving their fellow citizens and improving the lives of people from all sexual orientations. The foundations of the Eastern Orthodox Church stretch back to apostolic times. In this country, the jurisdictions coordinate their work...
The economics behind the COVID-19 baby bust
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some academics predicted a “baby boom,” as couples found themselves locked down with nothing to do. But those familiar with economics knew differently – and the data have now backed us up. The coronavirus “baby boom” has turned into a “baby bust.” The CDC reported that U.S. births in the month of December 2020, nine months after the lockdowns began, fell by pared with December 2019. The same pattern is seen in state-by-state...
Derek Chauvin guilty, but riots will hurt Minneapolis for generations
In Minneapolis, members of the clergy and Congress alike spent the weeks before Derek Chauvin’s conviction on all charges pouring gasoline on the fire of rioters’ rage. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told rioters to e even “more confrontational” unless the jury convicted Chauvin of murder – ideally “first-degree murder,” a crime with which he was not charged. Meanwhile, Pastor Runney Patterson, standing alongside Al Sharpton, told Minneapolis’ Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church last month that if jurors didn’t return a...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved