Global InformationReligion in the United States information
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Religious affiliation in the United States, per Gallup, Inc. (2022)[1]
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Religion in the United States is widespread, diverse, and vibrant, with the country being far more religious than other wealthy Western nations.[2] An overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a higher power,[3] engage in spiritual practices,[4] and consider themselves religious or spiritual.[5][6] Christianity is the most widely professed religion, with most Americans being Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, or Catholics.[7][8]
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Many scholars of religion credit this and the country's separation of church and state for its high level of religiousness;[9] lacking a state church, it completely avoided the experiences of religious warfare and conflict that characterized European modernization.[10] Its history of religion has always been marked by religious pluralism and diversity.[11][12] In colonial times, Anglicans, Quakers, and other mainline Protestants, as well as Mennonites, arrived from Northwestern Europe. Various dissenting Protestants who had left the Church of England greatly diversified the religious landscape.
The religiosity of the country has grown greatly over time.[13] Religious involvement among American citizens has gradually grown from 17% in 1776 to 62% in 2000.[14] The Thirteen Colonies were initially marked by low levels of religiosity.[13][15] The two Great Awakenings — the first in the 1730s and 1740s, the second between the 1790s and 1840s — led to an immense rise in observance and gave birth to many evangelical Protestant denominations. When they began, one in ten Americans were members of congregations; by the time they ended, eight in ten were.[13] The aftermath led to what historian Martin Marty calls the "Evangelical Empire", a period in which evangelicals dominated U.S. cultural institutions. They supported measures to abolish slavery, further women's rights, enact prohibition, and reform education and criminal justice.[16] The Episcopal Church, splitting from the Church of England, came into being in the American Revolution. New Protestant branches like Adventism emerged; Restorationists like the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Latter Day Saint movement, Churches of Christ and Church of Christ, Scientist, as well as Unitarian and Universalist communities all spread in the 19th century. Deism also found support among American upper classes and intellectual thinkers. During the immigrant waves of the mid to late 19th and 20th century, an unprecedented number of Catholic and Jewish immigrants arrived in the United States. Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century as a result of the Azusa Street Revival. Unitarian Universalism resulted from the merge of Unitarian and Universalist churches in the 20th century.
The U.S. has the largest Christian and Protestant population in the world.[17] 75% of Americans report praying often or sometimes and religion plays a very (46%) or fairly (26%) important role in their lives.[18] Judaism is the second-largest religion in the U.S., practiced by 2% of the population, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, each with 1% of the population.[19] Mississippi is the most religious state in the country, with 63% of its adult population described as very religious, saying that religion is important to them and attending religious services almost every week, while New Hampshire, with only 20% of its adult population described as very religious, is the least religious state.[20] Congress overwhelmingly identifies as religious and Christian; both the Republican and Democratic parties generally nominate those who are.[21][22] The Christian left, as seen through figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Jimmy Carter, and William Jennings Bryan; along with many figures within the Christian right have played a profound role in the country's politics.
- ^ Staff (June 8, 2007). "In Depth: Topics A to Z (Religion)". Gallup, Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ Fahmy, Dalia (July 31, 2018). "Americans are far more religious than adults in other wealthy nations". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
American adults under the age of 40 are less likely to pray than their elders, less likely to attend church services and less likely to identify with any religion – all of which may portend future declines in levels of religious commitment
- ^ Mitchell, Travis (November 23, 2021). "Few Americans Blame God or Say Faith Has Been Shaken Amid Pandemic, Other Tragedies". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project.
The combined nine-in-ten Americans who believe in God or a higher power (91%) were asked a series of follow-up questions about the relationship between God and human suffering.
- ^ Froese, Paul; Uecker, Jeremy E. (September 2022). "Prayer in America: A Detailed Analysis of the Various Dimensions of Prayer". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 61 (3–4): 663–689. doi:10.1111/jssr.12810. ISSN 0021-8294. S2CID 253439298.
- ^ Chaves, Mark (2017). American Religion: Contemporary Trends. Princeton, NJ; London: Princeton University Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9780691177564.
The vast majority of people — approximately 80 percent — describe themselves as both spiritual and religious. Still, a small but growing minority of Americans describe themselves as spiritual but not religious, as figure 3.4 shows. In 1998, 9 percent of Americans described themselves as at least moderately spiritual but not more than slightly religious. That number rose to 16 percent in the 2010s.
- ^ Pearce, Lisa D.; Gilliland, Claire C. (2020). Religion in America. Sociology in the Twenty-First Century, 6. Oakland, Ca: University of California Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780520296411.
Most people in the United States, however, identify as spiritual and religious.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon (2012) [2003]. Protestant Faith in America (2nd ed.). New York: Chelsea House/Facts On File. ISBN 978-1-4381-4039-1.
- ^ Pearce, Lisa D.; Gilliland, Claire C. (2020). Religion in America. Sociology in the Twenty-First Century, 6. Oakland, Ca: University of California Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 9780520296411.
- ^ Holifield, E. Brooks (2015). Why Are Americans So Religious? The Limitations of Market Explanations. Religion and the Marketplace in the United States. pp. 33–60. ISBN 9780199361809.
- ^ Donadio, Rachel (November 22, 2021). "Why Is France So Afraid of God?". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon; et al., eds. (2009) [1978]. Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions (8th ed.). Detroit, Mi: Gale Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-787-69696-2.
- ^ Pasquier, Michael (2023) [2016]. Religion in America: The Basics (2nd ed.). London; New York: Routledge. pp. 6–7. ISBN 9780367691806.
- ^ a b c Sullivan, Andrew (September 14, 2018). "The American Past: A History of Contradictions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Stark churchingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Edwards, Mark (July 2, 2015). "Was America founded as a Christian nation?". CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
Only after the violent attacks on religion in the French Revolution did alarm about the low level of religion in America escalate and enthusiasm for religion catch fire.
- ^ Conroy-Krutz, Emily (June 7, 2013). "Religion and Reform". The American Yawp. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ ANALYSIS (December 19, 2011). "Global Christianity". Pewforum.org. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ^ "Religion Historical Trends". Gallup. 2022.
- ^ "In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace" Archived October 3, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Pew Research Center, October 17, 2019, Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Newport, Frank (February 4, 2016). "New Hampshire Now Least Religious State in U.S." Gallup. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ Giatti, Ian M.; Reporter, Christian Post (January 6, 2023). "Christians continue to dominate Congress even as fewer Americans identify as religious: survey". The Christian Post. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ Contreras, Russell (April 23, 2023). "Our lawmakers are more religious than we are". Axios. Retrieved September 20, 2023.