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NextImg:Study finds years-long decline of Christianity in US has halted - Washington Examiner

A new major study suggested that the yearslong decline of Christianity in the United States has ended.

Since Pew Research Center began conducting its religious landscape study in 2007, Christianity in the U.S. has faced a steady and precipitous decline, with those identifying as Christian decreasing from 78% in 2007 to 62% in 2024. However, this hemorrhaging appears to have halted, as indicated by Pew polls over the past few years, culminating in a seven-month study of 36,908 U.S. adults from 2023 to 2024.

An image of Christ on the ceiling of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, taken on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, at the World Trade Center in New York. The original church was destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Pew surveys since 2020 have found that the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as Christian hovers around 60-64%. The most recent Religious Landscape Study, the third since 2007, placed the share of U.S. Christians at 62%.

The regular annual religious surveys, which are smaller in sample size, found a slight increase in Christians over the past two years, from a low of 60% in 2022 to 63% in 2024.

Of the 62%, 40% are Protestant, 19% are Catholic, and the remaining 3% are “other.” Orthodox Christians’ share of the population breached 1%.

Those belonging to religions that aren’t Christianity now lie at 7.1%. Notably, Muslims and Buddhists earned a share of the population greater than 1% for the first time, at 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively. Hindus are close behind at 0.9%, while Jews make up the largest non-Christian religion at 1.7%.

The rise of “nones,” the religiously unaffiliated, appears to have ended at 29%. Those firmly identifying as atheists are vanishing low at 5%, while agnostics are at 6%. The largest share is those identifying as “nothing in particular,” at 19%.

“Jesus” is displayed on a large monitor and worship songs are played on stage as people gather for the “Easter Sunrise Service” at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Washington, hosted by the National Community Church. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Religious affiliation is increasingly heavily polarized along religious lines. Roughly 82% of self-described conservatives identify as Christian, a slight decline from 89% in 2007. Christianity’s hold on self-described liberals has collapsed completely, from 62% in 2007 to just 37% in 2024. Over half of liberals say they have no religion.

Researchers identified a key factor showing the stabilization of Christianity’s decline in the two youngest cohorts. The pattern of every cohort becoming steadily less religious, as seen in the previous six cohorts, halted with the seventh, with the 1990s and 2000-2006 cohorts being roughly the same level of Christian at 46%.

The 2000-2006 cohort (ages 18-24) is also notable for being the first cohort in which men are more religious than women. David Campbell, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame, told the New York Times that the switch could be part of the increasing polarization of religion along political lines, as young men are much more conservative than young women.

While the lower levels of religiosity among younger generations could drag the share of Christians down over time, some speculate the current results show the natural ceiling of “nones.”

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“The ‘nones’ have run through the easy parts of the market, and now they’re hitting the bedrock of committed evangelicals” and theological traditionalists in other faiths, Eastern Illinois University political scientist Ryan Burge told the outlet. Going forward, “if you’re going to make advances, you have to make advances with conservatives.”

Though the overall percentage of those identifying with a religion has declined, the survey showed Americans are still highly spiritual, especially compared to Europe. Of those surveyed, 86% believe in having a soul or spirit; 83% believe in God or a universal spirit; 79% believe in something spiritual beyond the physical world; and 70% believe in heaven, hell, or both.