The great unchurching of America

"By the numbers: Nearly three in 10 American adults today identify as religiously unaffiliated - a 33% jump since 2013, according to the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). That's quicker than almost any major religious shift in modern U.S. history, and it's happening across racial groups, an Axios analysis found. About four in ten Americans ages 18 to 29 identify as religiously unaffiliated (38%), an increase from 32% in 2013, PRRI said."

"The religious shift has made it harder for political parties and candidates to reach voters, Sisto Abeyta, a Democratic political consultant based in New Mexico with the Nevada-based firm TriStrategies, tells Axios. "We have to find (religiously unaffiliated voters), engage them and answer their skeptical questions, rather than just go to a church and pass out campaign literature," Abeyta said. It costs campaigns about $1.40 to reach out to a single religiously unaffiliated voter, compared to $ 0.45 per faith-based voter, he said."

Religious disaffiliation in the United States has accelerated, with nearly three in 10 adults identifying as unaffiliated, a 33% increase since 2013. Young adults show the largest rise, with about 38% of 18-to-29-year-olds unaffiliated. Declining attendance is widespread: roughly 57% seldom or never attend services, up from 40% in 2000. Church closures and membership loss are intensifying, with an estimated 15,000 churches expected to close this year and an annual pre-pandemic loss rate near 15% of members. The shift complicates political outreach and alters the racial and partisan composition of faith voters.

Read at Axios