3.7 Religious Trends

LO 3.7: Describe the U.S. and global religious landscapes.

Religion is influential and important to the culture of the United States. Most U.S. adults say religion is important (72%) but also believe that it is not as influential in the United States as it once was (78%) (Brenan, 2018). Most (74%) have a religious preference. For a majority (67.3%) of those, it is a form of Christianity (Protestant, Catholic, Latter-day Saint) (see Figure 3.2) (PRRI Staff, 2025). U.S. adults today are less religious overall than they were in the past. Still, those who are religious are devout, defined as attending a house of worship regularly.

In recent history, more people in the United States have begun identifying with evangelical or fundamentalist religious traditions, although this trend is declining. Evangelical Protestantism is a branch of Christianity. They state that they obey the Bible, emphasize salvation through Jesus Christ, and share their beliefs with others (National Association of Evangelicals, 2023). Religious fundamentalism calls for strict adherence to religious beliefs and opposition to secularization. Secularization refers to the acceptance of nonreligious values. 

Another shift in religious practice and belief in the United States is the rising number of people with no religious affiliation, suggesting that secularization is increasing. Since 2007, the percentage of atheists (those who do not believe in a god) and agnostics (those who do not know whether a god exists) has increased (Smith et al., 2025) (see Figure 3.3). Among U.S. religious “nones,” the largest increase is among those who identify their religion as “nothing in particular” (Smith et al., 2025).

One result of the increase in religious “nones” is that fewer than half of U.S. adults (47%) belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque (Jones, 2021). In contrast, 73% did in 1937. However, about half the decline in church membership is split between people with and without a religious preference. That is, about half of the people with a religious preference do not belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. Age is also correlated with belonging to a house of worship. Younger U.S. adults are less likely to belong than their older counterparts.

The growth in the number of religious “nones” also varies across the United States. Wiertz and Lim (2021) used the General Social Survey to investigate where people are leaving religion. They find “faster declines in religious affiliation in the Pacific West, New England, and some Midwestern states and slower declines in the Bible Belt and other parts of the Midwest” (Wiertz & Lim, 2021, p. 445).