Mapped: If America were 100 people, this is what they'd believe

"The graph is based on the third of Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Studies. Taken together, they reveal a dramatic drop in the number of Americans self-identifying as Christian: from 78% in 2007, 71% in 2014, and down to 63% in its latest survey (2023-24). That last figure, however, seems to be holding steady since 2019. In other words, the decline of Christianity in America appears to have stabilized. Here's a closer look at the losses since 2007:"

"Protestants made up half of the American population in 2007 - if only just 51%. By 2023-24, that share had declined to 40%. Among Protestants, the greatest decline was witnessed by Mainline Protestants (i.e. generally more progressive), which shrank from 18% to 11%. There were smaller setbacks for Evangelical Protestants (typically more conservative), which went from 26% to 23%, and for Black Protestant churches (7% to 5%)."

"The Catholics shared in the decline, retreating from almost a quarter (24%) to less than a fifth (19%) of the overall population. Smaller denominations did better: the Latter-day Saints (i.e. Mormons) kept their 2%, and the Orthodox Christians (part of the "other Christians") stuck to 1%. Altogether, in just a decade and a half, Christian denominations lost about 15% of the total population. Where did those formerly faithful go? Mostly not to other faiths, the numbers show, but rather to various categories of religious unaffiliation."

Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Studies show U.S. self-identified Christians fell from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2023-24, stabilizing since 2019. Protestants declined from 51% to 40%, with mainline Protestants dropping from 18% to 11%, evangelicals from 26% to 23%, and Black Protestants from 7% to 5%. Catholics fell from 24% to 19%. Latter-day Saints remained at 2% and Orthodox Christians at 1%. Overall, Christian denominations lost about 15 percentage points over fifteen years. Most of the decline shifted into religious unaffiliation, with 'nones' rising from 16% to 29%.

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