Religion in the United States

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This article primarily covers the current status of religion in the United States. For information about the historical role of religion, see History of religion in the United States.

Religion in the United States is remarkable both in its high adherence as well as its rich diversity. Though the First Amendment to the country's Constitution explicitly forbids any official religion, the practice of religion and its importance in the lives of Americans are widespread and unusually strong among developed nations, with a majority of citizens reporting that religion played a "very important" role in their lives.^[1] Because the First Amendment also guarantees freedom of religious belief and practice, a large number of faiths, spanning the country's multicultural heritage, as well as those founded within the country, have lead the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in the world.^[2]

The majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians (76%) while non-Christian religions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and others) collectively make up about 4% of the adult population.^[3] Another 15% of the adult population identified as having no religious affiliation compared with far higher rates in other Western countries such as United Kingdom (44%) and Sweden (69%).^[4] According to ARIS^[5] Difference in religious belief and practice are also highly hetereogenous within the country: only 59% of Americans living in Western states report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.^[6]

Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by English settlers who wished to practice their own religion without discrimination: the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by Puritans, Pennsylvania by Quakers, and Maryland by Roman Catholics. Although many of the states retained established churches well into the nineteenth century, the United States became the first nation to have no official religion.^[7] Modeling the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise.

The decision was mainly influenced by Reformation ideals, but was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent them.^[8] Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence said "The priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot."^[9]

Contents 1 Main religious preferences of Americans 1.1 Christianity 1.2 No religion 1.3 Judaism 1.4 Buddhism 1.5 Islam 1.6 Hinduism 1.7 Sikhism 1.8 Unitarian Universalism 1.9 Native American religious practice 1.10 Others 1.11 Denominations and sects founded in the U.S. 2 Belief in God 2.1 God's role in Evolution 3 Church attendance 3.1 By state 4 Religion and politics 5 Religious bodies 6 ARIS findings 7 Ethnicity 8 See also 9 References 9.1 Bibliography 10 External links

[edit] Main religious preferences of Americans

United States religiosity
Religion			Percent
Christianity			78.4%
No religion			16.1%
Judaism			1.7%
Buddhism			0.7%
Islam			0.6%
Hinduism			0.4%
Other			1.2%

According to a 2007 survey,^[10] the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States:

• Christianity: (78.4%)
  • Protestantism (51.3%)
  • Roman Catholicism (23.9%)
  • LDS (1.7%)
  • Jehovah's Witness (0.7%)
  • Orthodox Church (0.6%)
  • other Christian (0.3%)
• no religion (16.1%)
• Judaism (1.7%)
• Buddhist (0.7%)
• Islam (0.6%)
• Hinduism (0.4%)
• other (1.2%)

More recent studies show that the overall percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians is sliding. Christianity in the United States has become more polarized with the numbers of evangelical Christians increased which, according to the studies, also contributed to the increasing numbers of Americans who are rejecting religion completely.^[11] Around half of American adults leave the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.^[12][13]

[edit] Christianity

The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (76% in 2008^[5]). Roughly 51.3% of Americans are Protestants, 23.9% are Catholics, and 1.7% are Mormons (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and 1.6% to various other Christian denominations.^[14] Christianity was introduced during the period of European colonization.

By the 2009 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches of the National Council of Churches, Roman Catholic Church is the largest single denomination with a membership of 67,117,016, and Southern Baptist Convention ranks second at 16,266,920.

The Hispanics/Latinos, Irish, Italians, Polish, French, Spanish, Hungarians, German, and Lebanese brought Catholicism, while Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. Among Protestants, adherents to Anglicanism, Baptism, Calvinism, Puritanism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, Amish, Methodism and Moravian Church were the first to settle to the US spreading their faith in the new country. Greek, Russian, Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, and South Indian immigrants brought Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy to the United States. These branches of Christianity have since spread beyond the boundaries of ethnic immigrant communities and now include multi-ethnic membership and parishes.

Since then, American Christians developed in their own path. During the Great Awakenings interdenominational evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and Christian fundamentalism emerged, along with new Protestant denominations such as Adventism, and new branches of Restorationism, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also commonly referred to as Mormonism. Today, with 16.6 million adherents (5.3% of the total population), Southern Baptist is the largest of more than 200^[16] distinctly named Protestant denominations.^[17] Of the total population, Evangelicals comprise 26.3%, and Mainline Protestants 16%.^[18] The strength of various sects varies greatly in different regions of the country, with rural parts of the South (except Louisiana and the Hispanic community, which both consist mainly of Catholics), having many evangelicals but very few Catholics, while urbanized areas of the north Atlantic states and Great Lakes, as well as many industrial and mining towns, are heavily Catholic, though still quite mixed. As of 1990, nearly 72% of the population of Utah was Mormon, as well as 26% of neighboring Idaho.^[19].

Despite its status as the most widespread and influential religion in the US, Christianity is undergoing a continuous relative decline in demographics. While the absolute number of Christians rose from 1990 to 2008 as the overall population increased, the actual percentage of Christians dropped from 86.2% to 76.0%.^[5] A nationwide telephone interview of 1,002 adults conducted by The Barna Group found that 70% of American adults believe that God is "the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today," and that 9% of all American adults and 0.5% young adults hold to what the survey defined as a "biblical worldview."^[20]

[edit] No religion

A 2001 survey directed by Dr. Ariela Keysar for the City University of New York indicated that, amongst the more than 100 categories of response, "no religious identification" had the greatest increase in population in both absolute and percentage terms. This category included atheists, agnostics, humanists, and others with no theistic religious beliefs or practices. Figures are up from 14.3 million in 1990 to 34.2 million in 2008, representing a proportionate increase from 8% of the total in 1990 to 15% in 2008.^[5] Another nation-wide study puts the figure of unaffiliated persons at 16.1%.^[21]

University of Minnesota researchers, in a nationwide 2006 poll found that despite an increasing acceptance of religious diversity, atheists were generally distrusted by other Americans, who rated them below Muslims, recent immigrants and other minority groups in "sharing their vision of American society". They also associated atheists with undesirable attributes such as criminal behavior, rampant materialism, and cultural elitism.^[22]

[edit] Judaism

After Christianity and no-religion, Judaism is the third-largest religious affiliation in the US, though this identification is not necessarily indicative of religious beliefs or practices.^[5]. Jews have been present in the US since the 17th century, though large scale immigration did not take place until the 19th century, largely as a result of persecutions in parts of Eastern Europe. The CIA Fact Book estimates 1%^[3] of Americans belong to this group. Approximately 25% of this population lives in New York City.^[23]

A significant number of people identify themselves as American Jews on ethnic and cultural grounds, rather than religious ones. For example, 19% of self-identified American Jews believe God does not exist, notwithstanding God's existence to be integral to Jewish religious beliefs.^[24] The 2001 ARIS study projected from its sample that there are about 5.3 million adults in the American Jewish population: 2.83 million adults (1.4% of the U.S. adult population) are estimated to be adherents of Judaism; 1.08 million are estimated to be adherents of no religion; and 1.36 million are estimated to be adherents of a religion other than Judaism.^[25][26]

According to the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey,^[27] 4.3 million American Jews have some sort of strong connection to the Jewish community, whether religious or cultural. Jewishness is generally considered an ethnic identity as well as a religious one. Among the 4.3 million American Jews described as "strongly connected" to Judaism, over 80% have some sort of active engagement with Judaism, ranging from attendance at daily prayer services on one end of the spectrum to as little as attending Passover Seders or lighting Hanukkah candles on the other. Of these 4.3 million strongly connected Jews, 46% belong to a synagogue. Among those who belong to a synagogue, 38% are members of Reform synagogues, 33% Conservative, 22% Orthodox, 2% Reconstructionist, and 5% other types. The survey also discovered that Jews in the Northeast and Midwest are generally more observant than Jews in the South or West. Reflecting a trend also observed among other religious groups, Jews in the Northwestern United States are typically the least observant.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of secular American Jews, called baalei teshuva ("returners", see also Repentance in Judaism), returning to a more religious, in most cases, Orthodox, style of observance. It is uncertain how widespread or demographically important this movement is at present.

The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their US-born descendants. There are, however, small numbers of older (and some recently arrived) communities of Sephardi Jews with roots tracing back to 15th century Iberia (Spain, Portugal, and North Africa).

There are Mizrahi Jews (from the Middle East, Caucasia and Central Asia), as well as much smaller numbers of Ethiopian Jews, Indian Jews, Kaifeng Jews and others from various smaller Jewish ethnic divisions.

[edit] Buddhism

Buddhism entered the US during the 19th century with the arrival of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia. The first Buddhist temple was established in San Francisco in 1853 by Chinese Americans.

During the late 19th century Buddhist missionaries from Japan came to the US. Simultaneously to these processes, US intellectuals started to take interest in Buddhism.

The first prominent US citizen to publicly convert to Buddhism was Henry Steel Olcott. An event that contributed to strengthen Buddhism in the US was the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893, which was attended by many Buddhist delegates sent from China, Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The early 20th century was characterized by a continuation of the tendencies with roots in the 19th century. The second half, by contrast, saw the emergence of new approaches, and the move of Buddhism into the mainstream making itself a mass and social religious phenomenon.

Many foreign associations and teachers - such as Soka Gakkai and Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama (for Tibetan Buddhism) - started to organize missionary activities, while US converts established the first Western-based Buddhist institutions, temples and worship groups.

Estimates of the number of Buddhists in the United States vary between 0.5%^[5] and 0.9%^[3][28].

[edit] Islam

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States,^[29][30][31] with 20,000 converting each year, mainly among African Americans and Whites,^[32] including a few Latinos.^[33] The first Muslim on record in USA was the explorer and sailor Estevanico of Azamor^[34] Furter accounts of early Muslim visitors.^[35] It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves transported to the United States were Muslim. ^[36]. The most famous of who was, Omar Ibn Said a Muslim Scholar and trader, who authored many Slave narratives that documented African Islam, the turmoil of integration into a foreign culture, life in Africa, and life as a slave in the Americas.

The Muslim population has increased greatly in the last one hundred years. There is much controversy over recent estimates of the Muslim population in the US. Much of the growth has been driven by immigration and conversion. Up to one-third of American Muslims are African Americans who have converted to Islam during the last seventy years, most of whom first joined the Nation of Islam, though the majority later transitioned into mainstream Sunni Islam.^[37]

Research indicates that Muslims in the US are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe.^[38][39] Surveys also suggest, however, that they are less assimilated than other American subcultural and religious communities.^[40] There are many Islamic political and charity organizations supporting this community.

Muslim immigration is rising as in 2005 alone more people from Islamic countries became legal permanent US residents than in any year in the previous two decades.^[41][42] The number of Muslims in the US is controversial. The highest, generally-accepted estimate of Muslims (including children) in the United States is 2.35 million (0.6% of the total population).^[43][44] Some sources mention estimates as high as 6-7 million.^[45][46] Such estimates were accepted by media for some time, but any empirical basis for these higher numbers is not documented.^{[47][48] [49]}

[edit] Hinduism

The first time Hinduism entered the US is not clearly identifiable. However, large groups of Hindus immigrated from India and other Asian countries since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. During the 1960s and 1970s Hinduism exercised fascination contributing to the development of New Age thought. During the same decades the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (a Vaishnavite Hindu reform organization) was founded in the US. Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed became the first to recite Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate in Washington, D.C. in 2007.

According to recent surveys, estimates for Hindus in the US suggest they number nearly 800 thousand people or about 0.4% of the total population^[21][26] .

Hindu religion is growing in the US. Hinduism is expanding in popularity and influence on the public life.^[50] In 2004 the Hindu American Foundation - a national institution protecting rights the Hindu community of US - was founded.

Hindu temples are flourishing in the US and in July 2007, Rajan Zed, a prominent Hindu chaplain, opened United States Senate in Washington, D.C. with a Hindu prayer for the first time in its 218 years history.^[51] The event has been criticized and disrupted^[52] by many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians.

[edit] Sikhism

Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. At the turn of the 19th century, the state of Punjab of British India was hit hard by British practices of mercantilism. Many Sikhs emigrated to the United States, and began arriving to work on farms in California. They traveled via Hong Kong to Angel Island, California, the western counterpart to Ellis Island in New York.^[53]

"Some Sikhs worked in lumber mills of Oregon or in railroad construction and for some Sikhs it was on a railway line, which allowed other Sikhs who were working as migrant laborers to come into the town on festival days."^[54]

"The first Sikh Gurdwara was built in Stockton, California; the Gurdwara was created in 1912 with joint efforts of Sardar Basakha Singh and Bhai Jawala Singh. It was in September 1912 when land was purchased on South Granth Street in Stockton for the use of the Gurdwara. A small frame house that was already standing on the lot was used as the main building of the Gurdwara. This building still stands still where a library is now implemented. A Nishan Sahib was also hoisted for the first time at the Gurdwara. Baba Vasakha Singh and Baba Jawala Singh Thathian of Amritsar Sahib were appointed as the first Granthi Singh Jis of the Gurdwara."^[55]

[edit] Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism (UUism) came into existence as a unique religion when the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was founded in 1961 as a consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America. Unitarian Universalism is a theologically liberal religious movement characterized by its support of a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning." Unitarian Universalism is a covenantal religion. Members do not share a creed; rather they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists draw on many different sources and have a wide range of beliefs and practices.

Being historically derived from Unitarianism and Universalism, Unitarian Universalism traces its roots to Christian Protestantism, however, the theological significance of both Unitarianism and Universalism had significantly expanded beyond the traditional understanding prior to their decision to combine their efforts at the continental level as Unitarian Universalists. Many UUs appreciate and value aspects of Islamic, Christian and Jewish spirituality, but the extent to which the elements of any particular faith tradition are incorporated into one's personal spiritual practices is a matter of personal choice in keeping with Unitarian Universalism's creedless, non-dogmatic approach to spirituality and faith development.

As a result of these historical roots, Unitarian Universalist congregations and fellowships tend to retain some Christian traditions such as Sunday worship that includes a sermon and singing of hymns, despite the fact that they do not necessarily identify themselves as Christians.

According to the 2007 survey published by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life .3% of U.S. adults or approximately 340,000 individuals identified themselves as Unitarian Universalist. ^[56]

[edit] Native American religious practice

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No particular religion or religious tradition is hegemonic among Native Americans in the United States. Most self-identifying and federally recognized Native Americans claim adherence to some form of Christianity, some of these being cultural and religious syntheses unique to the particular tribe.^{[citation needed]} Traditional Native American spiritual rites and ceremonies are maintained by many Americans of both Native and non-Native identity.^{[citation needed]} These spiritualities may accompany adherence to another faith, or can represent a person's primary religious identity. While much Native American spiritualism exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself, certain other more clearly-defined movements have arisen within "Trad" Native American practitioners, these being identifiable as "religions" in the clinical sense.^{[clarification needed]} The Midewiwin Lodge is a traditional medicine society inspired by the oral traditions and prophesies of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and related tribes. Traditional practices include the burning of sacred herbs (tobacco, sweetgrass, sage, etc.), the sweatlodge, fasting (paramount in "vision quests"), singing and drumming, and the smoking of natural tobacco in a pipe. A practitioner of Native American spiritualities and religions may incorporate all, some or none of these into their personal or tribal rituals.

Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included Wakan Tanka. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe's Saint Francis Cathedral.^[57] Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, New York and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York).

Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion.^{[citation needed]} The eagle feather law, (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently contest the value and validity of the eagle feather law, charging that the law is laden with discriminatory racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a common modern and traditional practice. Many non-Native Americans have been adopted into Native American families, made tribal members and given eagle feathers.

[edit] Others

Many other religions are represented in the United States, including Jainism, Shintoism, Taoism, Caodaism, the Bahá'í Faith, Heathenism, Neopaganism, Zoroastrianism, Jediism, and many forms of New Age spirituality.

[edit] Denominations and sects founded in the U.S.

• Episcopal Church in the United States - founded as an offshoot of the Church of England; now the United States branch of the Anglican Communion
• United Church of Christ - descended from Congregationalist churches of New England; formed in 1957 as a united and uniting church from a union of the Congregational Christian Church and Evangelical and Reformed Church
• Churches of Christ/Disciples of Christ - a restoration movement with no governing body. The Restoration Movement solidified as a historical phenomenon in 1832 when restorationists from two major movements championed by Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell merged (referred to as the "Stone-Campbell Movement").
• Pentecostalism - movement which emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit, finds its historic roots in the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, from 1904 to 1906, sparked by Charles Parham
• Adventism - began as an inter-denominational movement. Its most vocal leader was William Miller, who in the 1830s in New York became convinced of an imminent Second Coming of Jesus. The most prominent modern group to emerge from this is the Seventh Day Adventists.
• Universal Life Church - founded by the disaffected Pentecostalist Reverend Kirby J. Hensley in 1959 espousing as a goal the non-interference of the Church between the members and their God.
• Nation of Islam - A sect of Islam, created and followed solely by African-Americans. Main difference between Orthodox Islam was the re-definiton of the term "Allah" as someone "who came in the person of W. D. Fard."
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) - founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830 in New York. Now headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Jehovah's Witnesses - originated with the religious movement known as Bible Students, which was founded in Pennsylvania in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell.
• Scientology - founded by L. Ron Hubbard
• Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Baptist group in the world and the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. In 1995, it renounced its 1845 origins in the defense of slavery and racial superiority.
• Unitarian Universalism - a theologically liberal religious movement founded in 1961 from the union of the well established Unitarian and Universalist churches.
• Christian Science - founded by Mary Baker Eddy
• Reconstructionist Judaism-founded by Mordecai Kaplan
• Native American Church-founded by Quanah Parker beginning in the 1890s and incorporating in 1918.
• Twelve Tribes of Israel a controversial sect founded in 1973 by Elbert Eugene Spriggs or "Yoneq" in Chattanooga, Tennessee designed to replicate the early church as described in Book of Acts

[edit] Belief in God

The phrase "In God We Trust" first appeared on a U.S. coin on the 2-cent piece of 1864, and has been on all coins and paper bills since 1957. It was declared the national motto by Congress in 1956. The one dollar Federal Reserve Note of October 1957 was the first U.S. paper money with the motto. ^[58] The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was modified in 1954 to add the phrase "under God". Various polls have been conducted to determine Americans' actual beliefs regarding God:

• A 2006 online Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults (18 and older)^[59] found that 73% of those surveyed said that they believed in a God, 11% said they believed there was no God, and 16% said that they were not sure whether or not there was a God. The believers in God included 58% of respondents who said they were "absolutely certain", and 15% who said they were "somewhat certain" that there is a God. The believers in no God included 6% who were "absolutely certain", and 6% who were "somewhat certain" that there is no God. About 29% believed that God "controls what happens on Earth", while a plurality (44%) believed that God "observes but does not control what happens on Earth". The poll also showed that an "absolute certain" belief in God is correlated to age: only 43%-45% of those aged 18–29 were "absolutely certain" that God exists, while 54% of those aged 30–39 were "absolutely certain" that God exists, and 63%-65% of those aged 40 and older were "absolutely certain" that God exists.
• A 2006 CBS News Poll of 899 U.S. adults found that 82% of those surveyed believed in God, while 9% believed in "some other universal spirit or higher power", 8% believed in neither, and 1% were unsure.
• A 2004 Newsweek Poll of 1,009 U.S. adults, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, found that 82% of those surveyed believed that Jesus was God or the Son of God.
• A 2000 Newsweek Poll of 752 U.S. adults, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, found that 94% of those surveyed believed in God, while 4% did not and 2% were unsure.
• A 1998 Harris Poll of 1,011 U.S. adults found that 94% of those surveyed believed in God.

[edit] God's role in Evolution

According to a 2005 poll 51% of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form, the same poll indicated that 30% of Americans believe that Humans evolved but God "guided the process" an additional 15% believe that Humans evolved on their own without God.^[60]

[edit] Church attendance

Gallup International indicates that 41%^[61] of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens,^[62] and 7.5% of Australian citizens.^[63]

However, these numbers are open to dispute. ReligiousTolerance.org states:

"Church attendance data in the U.S. has been checked against actual values using two different techniques. The true figures show that only about 21% of Americans and 10% of Canadians actually go to church one or more times a week. Many Americans and Canadians tell pollsters that they have gone to church even though they have not. Whether this happens in other countries, with different cultures, is difficult to predict."^[61]

In, a 2006 online Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults (18 and older) found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 9% went "once or twice a month" 21% went "a few times a year", 3% went "once a year", 22% went "less than once a year", and 18% never attend religious services. An identical survey by Harris in 2003 found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 11% went "once or twice a month" 19% went "a few times a year", 4% went "once a year", 16% went "less than once a year", and 25% never attend religious services.

[edit] By state

Church attendance varies a lot by state and region. In a 2006 Gallup survey, 42% of Americans said that they attended church or synagogue once a week or almost every week. The figures ranged from 58% in Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina to 24% in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Church Attendance by State[2]

Rank	State	Percent
—	National average	42%
1	Alabama	58%
1	Louisiana	58%
1	South Carolina	58%
4	Mississippi	57%
5	Arkansas	55%
5	Utah	55%
7	Nebraska	53%
7	North Carolina	53%
9	Georgia	52%
9	Tennessee	52%
11	Oklahoma	50%
12	Texas	49%
13	Kentucky	48%
14	Kansas	47%
15	Indiana	46%
15	Iowa	46%
15	Missouri	46%
15	West Virginia	46%
19	South Dakota	45%
20	Minnesota	44%
20	Virginia	44%
22	Delaware	43%
22	Idaho	43%
22	North Dakota	43%
22	Ohio	43%
22	Pennsylvania	43%
22	Wisconsin	43%
28	Illinois	42%
28	Michigan	42%
30	Maryland	41%
30	New Mexico	41%
32	Florida	39%
33	Connecticut	37%
34	Wyoming	36%
35	Arizona	35%
35	Colorado	35%
37	Montana	34%
37	New Jersey	34%
39	District of Columbia	33%
39	New York	33%
41	California	32%
41	Oregon	32%
41	Washington	32%
44	Maine	31%
44	Massachusetts	31%
46	Rhode Island	28%
47	Nevada	27%
48	New Hampshire	24%
48	Vermont	24%

[edit] Religion and politics

Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning, and many churches and religious figures are highly politically active. However, to keep their status as tax-exempt organizations they must not officially endorse a candidate. There are Christians in both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, but evangelical Christians tend to support the Republican Party whereas more liberal Christians and secular voters^[64] tend to support the Democratic Party.

Every President and Vice President, with the exception of former President John F. Kennedy and current Vice President Joe Biden, both Roman Catholics, were raised in a family with affiliations with Protestant Christianity. However, many presidents have themselves had only a nominal affiliation with Protestant churches. Four presidents have been Unitarians (though it should be noted that they were not Unitarian Universalists, an idea that came to pass many years after their presidencies), Jefferson and Monroe were Deists (with Jefferson later expressing agreement with much of Unitarianism).

Only three presidential candidates for major parties have been Catholics^[65], all for the Democratic party:

• Alfred E. Smith -- Smith, the Governor of New York, secured the Democratic presidential nomination in 1928. A contributing factor to Smith's defeat in the presidential election of 1928 was his Roman Catholic faith.
• John F. Kennedy -- Kennedy, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, secured the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960. In the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy faced accusations that as a Roman Catholic President he would do as the Pope would tell him to do, a charge that Kennedy managed to subdue considerably.
• John Kerry -- Kerry, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, secured the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. In the 2004 election, there was discussion about whether Kerry's beliefs as a Catholic would be relevant to the national debate on abortion, but there was no implication that his being a Roman Catholic per se made him an undesirable candidate among pro-choice voters. Kerry himself was pro-choice, while the Catholic Church staunchly opposes abortion.

Joe Biden is the first Catholic vice president ^[66].

There has never been a Jewish President or Vice-President. The only Jewish major party candidate for either of those offices was Joe Lieberman in the Gore-Lieberman campaign of 2000 (although John Kerry and Barry Goldwater both had Jewish ancestry). Lieberman's faith is Orthodox Judaic. Some sources indicate that Jews constitute only 1.4% of the U.S. population, although others indicate that Jews comprise as much as 2.1% of the population (a significant decline from over 3% in the 1950s, chiefly due to the relatively low birthrate among Jewish Americans and high rates of out-marriage to non-Jews).

In the 2004 Presidential election, George W. Bush, a Methodist, earned a slim victory over John Kerry, with voters who cited "moral values" (a commonly used term among religiously-inclined voters) playing a crucial part in the election ^[67].

In 2006 Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the federal government, as the representative of Minnesota's 5th congressional district. When re-enacting his swearing-in for photos, he used the copy of the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

In 2007, the first Hindu prayer was recited in the United States Senate by Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed.

A Gallup Poll released in 2007^[68] indicated that 53% of Americans would refuse to vote for an atheist as president, up from 48% in 1987 and 1999.

[edit] Religious bodies

The table below is based mainly on selected data as reported to the United States Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 60,000 or more. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body. A growing sector of the population, currently 14%, does not identify itself as a member of any religion.(^[69])

Religious body	Year Reported	Places of Worship Reported	Membership (thousands)	Number of Ministers
African Methodist Episcopal Church	1999	0-sm=n	2,500	7,741
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church	2002	3,226	1,431	3,252
American Baptist Association	1998	1,760	275	1,740
American Baptist Churches USA	1998	3,800	1,507	4,145
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America	1998	220	65	263
Armenian Apostolic Church	1998	28	200	25
Assemblies of God	1998	11,937	2,526	18,148
Baptist Bible Fellowship International	1997	4,500	1,200	-
Baptist General Conference	1998	876	141	-
Baptist Missionary Association of America	1999	1,334	235	1,525
Buddhism	2001	-	1,082	-
Christian and Missionary Alliance, The	1998	1,964	346	1,629
Christian Brethren (Plymouth Brethren)	1997	1,150	100	-
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)	1997	3,818	879	3,419
Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ	1998	5,579	1,072	5,525
Christian Congregation, Inc., The	1998	1,438	117	1,436
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church	1983	2,340	719	-
Christian Reformed Church in North America	1998	733	199	655
Church of God in Christ	1991	15,300	5,500	28,988
Church of God of Prophecy	1997	1,908	77	2,000
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)	1998	2,353	234	3034
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)	1995	6,060	753	3,121
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	2006	13,010	5,779	39,030
Church of the Brethren	1997	1,095	141	827
Church of the Nazarene	1998	5,101	627	4,598
Churches of Christ	1999	15,000	1,500	14,500
Conservative Baptist Association of America	1998	1,200	200	-
Community of Christ	1998	1,236	140	19,319
Coptic Orthodox Church	2003	200	1,000	200
Cumberland Presbyterian Church	1998	774	87	634
Episcopal Church	1996	7,390	2,365	8,131
Evangelical Covenant Church, The	1998	628	97	607
Evangelical Free Church of America, The	1995	1,224	243	1,936
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	1998	10,862	5,178	9,646
Evangelical Presbyterian Church	1998	187	61	262
Free Methodist Church of North America	1998	990	73	-
Full Gospel Fellowship	1999	896	275	2,070
General Association of General Baptists	1997	790	72	1,085
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches	1998	1,415	102	-
U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches	1996	368	82	590
Grace Gospel Fellowship	1992	128	60	160
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America	1998	523	1,955	596
Hinduism	2001	-	766	-
Independent Fundamental Churches of America	1999	659	62	-
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel	1998	1,851	238	4,900
International Council of Community Churches	1998	150	250	182
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	1998	1,716	177	1,507
Islam	2001	-	1,104	-
Jehovah's Witnesses	1999	11,064	1,040	-
Judaism	2001	-	2,831	-
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, The	1998	6,218	2,594	5,227
Mennonite Church USA	2005	943	114	-
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches	1998	416	67	534
National Association of Free Will Baptists	1998	2,297	210	2,800
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.	1987	2,500	3,500	8,000
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.	1992	33,000	8,200	32,832
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America	1992	-	2,500	-
Old Order Amish Church	1993	898	81	3,592
Orthodox Church in America	1998	625	28	700
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.	1998	1,750	1,500	4,500
Pentecostal Church of God	1998	1,237	104	-
Presbyterian Church in America	1997	1,340	280	1,642
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	1998	11,260	3,575	9,390
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.	1995	2,000	2,500	-
Reformed Church in America	1998	902	296	915
Religious Society of Friends (Conservative)	1994	1,200	104	-
Roman Catholic Church	2002	19,484	66,404	-
Romanian Orthodox Episcopate	1996	37	65	37
Salvation Army, The	1998	1,388	471	2,920
Serbian Orthodox Church	1986	68	67	60
Seventh-day Adventist Church	1998	4,405	840	2,454
Sikhism	1999	244	80	-
Southern Baptist Convention	1998	40,870	16,500	71,520
Unitarian Universalism	2001	-	629	-
United Church of Christ	1998	6,017	1,421	4,317
United Methodist Church, The	1998	36,170	8,400	-
Wesleyan Church, The	1998	1,590	120	1,806
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod	1997	1,240	411	1,222

[edit] ARIS findings

The United States government does not collect religious data in its census. The survey below, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008, was a random digit-dialed telephone survey of 54,461 American residential households in the contiguous United States. The 1990 sample size was 113,723; 2001 sample size was 50,281.

Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?" Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.

Religious Self-Identification of the U.S. Adult Population: 1990, 2001, 2008^[5]
Figures are not adjusted for refusals to reply; investigators suspect refusals are possibly more representative of "no religion" than any other group.

Source:ARIS 2008^[5]

Group	1990 adults x 1,000	2001 adults x 1,000	2008 adults x 1,000	Numerical Change 1990- 2008 as % of 1990	1990 % of adults	2001 % of adults	2008 % of adults	change in % of total adults 1990- 2008
Adult population, total	175,440	207,983	228,182	30.1%
Adult population, Responded	171,409	196,683	216,367	26.2%	97.7%	94.6%	94.8%	-2.9%
Total Christian	151,225	159,514	173,402	14.7%	86.2%	76.7%	76.0%	-10.2%
Catholic	46,004	50,873	57,199	24.3%	26.2%	24.5%	25.1%	-1.2%
non-Catholic Christian	105,221	108,641	116,203	10.4%	60.0%	52.2%	50.9%	-9.0%
Baptist	33,964	33,820	36,148	6.4%	19.4%	16.3%	15.8%	-3.5%
Mainline Christian	32,784	35,788	29,375	-10.4%	18.7%	17.2%	12.9%	-5.8%
Methodist	14,174	14,039	11,366	-19.8%	8.1%	6.8%	5.0%	-3.1%
Lutheran	9,110	9,580	8,674	-4.8%	5.2%	4.6%	3.8%	-1.4%
Presbyterian	4,985	5,596	4,723	-5.3%	2.8%	2.7%	2.1%	-0.8%
Episcopalian/Anglican	3,043	3,451	2,405	-21.0%	1.7%	1.7%	1.1%	-0.7%
United Church of Christ	438	1,378	736	68.0%	0.2%	0.7%	0.3%	0.1%
Christian Generic	25,980	22,546	32,441	24.9%	14.8%	10.8%	14.2%	-0.6%
Christian Unspecified	8,073	14,190	16,384	102.9%	4.6%	6.8%	7.2%	2.6%
Non-denominational Christian	194	2,489	8,032	4040.2%	0.1%	1.2%	3.5%	3.4%
Protestant - Unspecified	17,214	4,647	5,187	-69.9%	9.8%	2.2%	2.3%	-7.5%
Evangelical/Born Again	546	1,088	2,154	294.5%	0.3%	0.5%	0.9%	0.6%
Pentecostal/Charismatic	5,647	7,831	7,948	40.7%	3.2%	3.8%	3.5%	0.3%
Pentecostal - Unspecified	3,116	4,407	5,416	73.8%	1.8%	2.1%	2.4%	0.6%
Assemblies of God	617	1,105	810	31.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.4%	0.0%
Church of God	590	943	663	12.4%	0.3%	0.5%	0.3%	0.0%
Other Protestant Denominations	4,630	5,949	7,131	54.0%	2.6%	2.9%	3.1%	0.5%
Churches of Christ	1,769	2,593	1,921	8.6%	1.0%	1.2%	0.8%	-0.2%
Jehovah's Witness	1,381	1,331	1,914	38.6%	0.8%	0.6%	0.8%	0.1%
Seventh-Day Adventist	668	724	938	40.4%	0.4%	0.3%	0.4%	0.0%
Mormon/Latter-Day Saints	2,487	2,697	3,158	27.0%	1.4%	1.3%	1.4%	0.0%
Total non-Christian religions	5,853	7,740	8,796	50.3%	3.3%	3.7%	3.9%	0.5%
Jewish	3,137	2,837	2,680	-14.6%	1.8%	1.4%	1.2%	-0.6%
Eastern Religions	687	2,020	1,961	185.4%	0.4%	1.0%	0.9%	0.5%
Buddhist	404	1,082	1,189	194.3%	0.2%	0.5%	0.5%	0.3%
Muslim	527	1,104	1,349	156.0%	0.3%	0.5%	0.6%	0.3%
New Religious Movements & Others	1,296	1,770	2,804	116.4%	0.7%	0.9%	1.2%	0.5%
None/ No religion, total	14,331	29,481	34,169	138.4%	8.2%	14.2%	15.0%	6.8%
Agnostic+Atheist	1,186	1,893	3,606	204.0%	0.7%	0.9%	1.6%	0.9%
Did Not Know/ Refused to reply	4,031	11,300	11,815	193.1%	2.3%	5.4%	5.2%	2.9%

Highlights:^[5]

1. The ARIS 2008 survey was carried out during February-November 2008 and collected answers from 54,461 respondents who were questioned in English or Spanish.
2. The American population self-identifies as predominantly Christian but Americans are slowly becoming less Christian.
   • 86% of American adults identified as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008.
   • The historic Mainline churches and denominations have experienced the steepest declines while the non-denominational Christian identity has been trending upward particularly since 2001.
   • The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.
3. 34% of American adults considered themselves "Born Again or Evangelical Christians" in 2008.
4. The U. S. population continues to show signs of becoming less religious, with one out of every five Americans failing to indicate a religious identity in 2008.
   • The "Nones" (no stated religious preference, atheist, or agnostic) continue to grow, though at a much slower pace than in the 1990s, from 8.2% in 1990, to 14.1% in 2001, to 15.0% in 2008.
   • Asian Americans are substantially more likely to indicate no religious identity than other racial or ethnic groups.
5. One sign of the lack of attachment of Americans to religion is that 27% do not expect a religious funeral at their death.
6. Based on their stated beliefs rather than their religious identification in 2008, 70% of Americans believe in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unknowable or unsure), and another 12% are deistic (a higher power but no personal God).
7. America's religious geography has been transformed since 1990. Religious switching along with Hispanic immigration has significantly changed the religious profile of some states and regions. Between 1990 and 2008, the Catholic population proportion of the New England states fell from 50% to 36% and in New York it fell from 44% to 37%, while it rose in California from 29% to 37% and in Texas from 23% to 32%.
8. Overall the 1990-2008 ARIS time series shows that changes in religious self-identification in the first decade of the 21st century have been moderate in comparison to the 1990s, which was a period of significant shifts in the religious composition of the United States.

[edit] Ethnicity

The table below shows the religious affiliations among the ethnicities in the United States, according to the Pew Forum 2007 survey.^[70] People of Black ethnicity were most likely to be part of a formal religion, with 85% per cent being Christians. Protestant denominations make up the majority of the Christians in the ethnicities.

Religion	White	Black	Asian	Other/Mixed	Latino
Christian	78%	85%	45%	69%	84%
Protestant	53%	78%	27%	51%	23%
Catholic	22%	5%	17%	14%	58%
Mormon	2%	0%	1%	2%	1%
Jehovah's Witness	0%	1%	0%	1%	1%
Orthodox	1%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Other	0%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Other Religions	5%	2%	30%	9%	2%
Jewish	2%	0%	0%	1%	0%
Muslim	0%	1%	4%	1%	0%
Buddhist	1%	0%	9%	1%	0%
Hindu	0%	0%	14%	1%	0%
Other world religions	0%	0%	2%	0%	0%
Other faiths	1%	0%	1%	5%	0%
Unaffiliated	17%	13%	25%	22%	15%

[edit] See also

• United States religious history
• Freedom of Religion in the United States
• List of U.S. states by percentage of population claiming no religion
• Separation of church and state in the United States
• Religious affiliations of United States Presidents
• Religion in United States prisons

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Miguel A. De La Torre, "Encyclopedia on Hispanic American Religious Culture," Volume 1 & 2, ABC-CLIO Publishers, 2009.
• Gaustad, Edwin (1962), Historical atlas of religion in America, New York, New York: Harper & Row .

[edit] External links

• 2008 ARIS Survey
• CNN Article (2/25/08) on 2008 Pew Results [3]
• Religious Affiliation Underestimated in U.S., Study Shows
• Map Gallery of Religion in the United States
• http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions
• U.S. Census links and Statistical Abstract - ARIS Data - PDF & XLS (Excel)
• USA - Population statistics by religion
• American Religious Data Archive, collection of U.S. religious demographics
• Is America Too Damn Religious? -- from NPR.

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