In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip, with both Protestantism and Catholicism experiencing losses of population share.
Will Jordan
499d ago
Pretty momentous finding deep in this big Pew report:
Millennials appear to have become the first generation (in U.S. history, no doubt) to be majority non-Christian.
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/9JWZ3P9SMQ
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Atheists, agnostics, and the nonreligious now make up 26% of the U.S. population!
New @pewresearch @pewreligion analysis: In U.S., decline of Christianity continues at rapid pace.
Share of self-described Christians among US adults:
2009: 77%
2018/2019: 65%
Share of religious “nones” among US adults:
2009: 17%
2018/2019: 26%
pewrsr.ch/33zq8Hc pic.twitter.com/pz84xH5oXR
The share of White Democrats who say they have no religion has almost doubled in 10 years to 42%! Just 29 pc attend regularly. pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/Yigwb9Opw4
NEW from @pewreligion: Catholics no longer make up a majority of US Latino adults pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… @PewHispanic pic.twitter.com/AE0ZPo7AXI
NEW: The trends are now clear – the U.S. is steadily becoming less Christian and less religiously observant. (THREAD 1/7)
Share in each generation who identify as Christian:
Silent: 84%
Baby Boomers: 76%
Generation X: 67%
Millennials: 49%
Note, however, big differences between Democrats of different races/ethnicities. E.g., 74% of Black Democrats describe selves as Christians, and 61% say they attend religious services regularly. Among white Democrats, comparable figures are 47% and 29%.
pewrsr.ch/33zq8Hc pic.twitter.com/CZUMB5K7ep
Stunning changes: 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians down 12 percentage points over the past decade.
Share in each generation who say they attend church monthly or more:
Silent: 61%
Baby Boomers: 49%
Generation X: 46%
Millennials: 35%
40% of Millennials are non-religious. FORTY PERCENT!
This is era-defining stuff. The question is no longer "how do we bring them back" but has to be "what do we build together now?"
12% decline in American Christians from a decade ago
84% of those born before 1945 are Christian vs 49% of millennials
9% rise in atheism & agnosticism
@pewresearch
There is not a Christian majority among Millennials in the U.S.:
49% are Christian
9% belong to non-Christian faiths
40% have no religious affiliation
Most Millennials (64%) attend religious services infrequently or never
pewrsr.ch/2MOfHIX pic.twitter.com/9DB3MW0URt
Among U.S. Hispanics, Catholics no longer constitute a majority: pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/tk6sQyuIv1
This is why the evangelicals are in a race to lock in theocratic power. Ultimately, they will lose.
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the last decade.
Christians are declining and "nones" are rising in America among men and women, across racial/ethnic groups, and across geographic regions. The trend also crosses partisan lines, although it is more pronounced among Democrats than Republicans: pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/bwLL4C3vfb
Share of Democrats who describe selves as Christians falls to 55%, down from 72% a decade ago. And today, just 38% of Democrats say they attend religious services at least monthly.
Trends among Republicans moving in same direction, but not as quickly.
pewrsr.ch/33zq8Hc pic.twitter.com/qAEBUwbqqi
Share in each generation who say they attend church monthly or more:
Silent: 61%
Baby Boomers: 49%
Generation X: 46%
Millennials: 35%
Wow - 40% of Millennials are religiously unaffiliated, more than twice the share of Boomers and four times the share of Silents. Important new survey from @PewReligion
pewrsr.ch/33zq8Hc pic.twitter.com/hHmY9NranO
Today, there is a wide gap between older Americans (Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation) and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation. pewrsr.ch/32lU7lS pic.twitter.com/M9XZUolzUi
% of Americans who identify as Christian:
Silent Generation 84%
Baby Boomers 76%
Gen X 67%
Millennials 49%
pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/xuI5DLfUBP
Share in each generation who identify as Christian:
Silent: 84%
Baby Boomers: 76%
Generation X: 67%
Millennials: 49%
pewrsr.ch/32lU7lS pic.twitter.com/nZjnE9mwne
"Religious 'nones' have grown across multiple demographic groups: white people, black people and Hispanics; men and women; in all regions of the country; and among college graduates and those with lower levels of educational attainment," notes @pewresearch
If Amy Coney Barrett were appointed to #SCOTUS, we would have a Court in which 7 of 9 Justices were raised Catholic. Per Pew, about 21% of the US population is Catholic, while 26% are "religiously unaffiliated."
Sources:
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-…
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018…
In the U.S., women are still more religious than men, but both women and men are becoming less religious over time: pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/F1tLyFVARK
Religious "nones" now make up 34% of Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party, up from 20% 10 years ago: pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/3ysMtnMHZS
As an atheist I used to think this is unequivocally a good thing, but I’m not so sure anymore. Religion provides a deep sense of community, and having it disappear *without a meaningful substitute* wouldn’t be good.
The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. pewrsr.ch/32lU7lS pic.twitter.com/lQi6n3sX39
Today @pewresearch released its once-per-decade report, surveying 168K Americans about their religious faith & practice (pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-…). And:
1. Since 2009, belief among Christians has fallen by 12 points—from 77 percent of the US population, to 65 percent.
“In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace”
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/5zIeykSXeP
A decade's worth of our telephone polls have found that the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian is declining at a rapid pace: pewrsr.ch/2MMRq6d pic.twitter.com/aJuXrQjWD2
Among the Silent Generation (born 1928-45), the ratio identifying as Christian vs. unaffiliated is 8.4-to-1 (84% vs. 10%). Among Millennials (born 1981-96), the ratio is 1.2-to-1 (49% vs. 40%).
"In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace"
Stunning chart (and paragraph) about the twin changes shaping America's religious landscape: In a nutshell, fewer Christians and more unaffiliated people.
Much more in this week's @pewreligion report: pewrsr.ch/33zq8Hc pic.twitter.com/5wxDwHCV4m
In the last decade, the percentage of Americans identifying as Christian declined from 77% to 65%. The percentage identifying as atheist, agnostic, or "nothing in particular" rose from 17% to 26%.
Thinking of that Pew study showing a very fast decline of Christianity in the US, mirroring declines in other countries. So I'm curious, if you used to be a Christian and left, why? Trying to get a qualitative picture. Thanks for any insights!
October 2019:
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
Do you think this trend will continue? I do.
In short, there is now a smaller pool of people (white Protestants) from which white evangelical Protestants are drawn. But among those in the pool, the % who are born-again or evangelical Christians is no smaller today than a decade ago. 11/11
The Falwell Jr. incident is amusing but the overarching story is the rapid decline of religion in the US across the board
It’s not because people are choosing other religions, but because they’re abandoning organized religion altogether. Ten percent less of the population identify as Christian today than ten years ago, and ten percent more don’t identify with any religion.
The religious landscape in America, 2019
Christian 65%, including
Protestant 43%
Catholic 20%
Religious "nones" 26%, including
Atheist 4%
Agnostic 5%
Nothing in particular 17%
Non-Christian faiths 7%
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/oJqa1sy6rc
This is a fascinating study. The % of Christians in the US, as well as absolute numbers, are declining rapidly. Numbers in, e.g., the UK and Australia are similar. What's going on? 1/
New Pew data: Since 2009, the percentage of US adults who say they're Christian has fallen 12 points. The percentage who say they're atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular" has risen 9 points.
Religiosity goes in waves so no guarantee what happens 20 years from now, but at this moment America it is on a decline
Millennials are no longer majority-Christian. This isn't a constant generational gap: all age groups are less Christian than they were 10 years ago, with Millennials having the biggest drop (used to be 65% Christian). pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/6oSPOIwml9
@DouthatNYT First, anyone arguing that American Christianity is "collapsing" is almost certainly overstating the case, by a lot. But Christian affiliation in the U.S. is declining and it is happening rapidly.
In 2009, the discrepancy between Americans who identify as Christian and those who identify as nonreligious was 60% (77% vs. 17%). Today, the difference is 39% (65% vs. 26%). A huge change.
"In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace"
To people who tell me that you can't change religious people's minds: we're actually doing a really good job of it!
Some very good news. Truth and science continue winning out over superstition and ignorance.
".....65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile,...
In US, decline of christianity continues at rapid pace. Rates of religious affiliation and rates of religious attendance are falling pewrsr.ch/344vkD5 pic.twitter.com/sryoS0LpCS
The numbers from Pew Research confirm what we've known for a while. Christianity is dying a slow death, and Evangelicals delivered the killing blow. #Exvangelical #EmptythePews
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-…
youtu.be/NEoGPHAk1gc?t=…
According to this new @pewresearch study, "nones" are now 26 percent of the population of this country, up from 17 percent in 2009. I neither cheer nor lament this social trend but I do underscore its significance.
In a generation traditional Xians will be small minority in US, as in much of Europe. Good thing? Depends on whether this results in less dogma, more critical thinking, or many just trade one faith for another, whether it's religion or a political ideology
Peace to my fellow millennial unaffiliated.
source: pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… pic.twitter.com/mWGksSdmcK
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-…
Roughly 25% Americans are now "nones"
"Self-described atheists now account for 4% of U.S. adults, agnostics make up 5% and 17% of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular”" pic.twitter.com/medbBGq7p4
In US, Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-…
A 10% point change in just 10 years! For something so fundamental to people's identity that is a neck-breaking speed.
The people who believe in Christ should reclaim the term from the "value voters". pic.twitter.com/jA644J2GkV
In US, decline of christianity continues at rapid pace. Rates of religious affiliation and rates of religious attendance are falling pewrsr.ch/344vkD5
Will #KanyeWest help turn the tide with his new album and movie #JesusIsKing? #KanyeWestSundayService pic.twitter.com/wqWGyVzTZb
And this further fuels decline in religious belief. Imagine someone who grew up never seeing any religious displays, who then raises their children non-religiously and so on. In the end, you come to an atheistic/agnostic population (e.g., Scandinavia) 24/
It alienates people who are not interested in the package deal of traditional values (e.g., anti LGBTQ) and ethnic identity, and thus loses potential young converts. It's worth noting the very rapid de-Christianization of Zoomers and Millennials, here
pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-… 9/
It is not THAT Rodney Stark et al were so wrong about secularization, but rather, HOW and WHY they could claim to be so empirical and yet be so blind to what was actually happening on the religious landscape. Doesn’t speak well of our discipline.
People like @Franklin_Graham are helping this decline along with their commitment to the white nationalist agenda of @realDonaldTrump. #EmptyThePews
20% of US adults say their Catholic, while 26% describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” according to the Pew Research Center. When do the latter, truly without religious bias, get their Supreme Court Justices?