US Christianity's long decline has halted, Pew finds
62% of Americans call themselves Christian, a population that has been 'relatively stable' for the past five years


What happened
"After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off — at least temporarily," Pew Research Center said Wednesday.
Who said what
Pew's third Religious Landscape Study found that 62% of Americans call themselves Christian — 40% Protestant, 19% Catholic and 3% other. That's a decline from 78% in 2007 and 71% in 2014, but "the Christian share of the adult population has been relatively stable" for the past five years, Pew said. The share of "nones" — those with no religious affiliation — has also been relatively stable at 29%, up from 16% in 2007 and 23% in 2014.
The study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 36,908 respondents from July 2023 to March 2024, found that 1.7% of Americans identify as Jewish, 1.2% as Muslim, 1.1% as Buddhist and 0.9% as Hindu.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Older age cohorts were more likely to identify as Christian, as were political conservatives — 82% versus 37% of liberals. But the "youngest age group," people 18 to 24, "appear to defy that trend," The New York Times said. They are about as religious as the cohort above them, and the persistent "gap in religiosity between men and women" that "some scholars characterize" as a "fact of human life" is "small or nonexistent," with men as religious as women. "If you're a young white male these days and you think of yourself as conservative, then being religious is a part of that," David Campbell, a Notre Dame political scientist, said to the Times.
What next?
Religious researchers said the "data does not indicate an actual reversal in the decline of Christianity," the Times said, but it "might offer a hint at the natural ceiling of nonreligiosity in the United States."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
America's academic brain drain has begun
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration targets universities and teachers, educators are eying greener academic pastures elsewhere — and other nations are starting to take notice
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why is Musk targeting a Wisconsin Supreme Court race?
Today's Big Question His money could help conservatives, but it could also produce a Democratic backlash
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How to pay off student loans
The explainer Don't just settle for the default repayment plan
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital stay
Speed Read Pope Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14 and battled double pneumonia
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas megachurch founder charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Robert Morris, former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is accused of sexually abusing a child
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pope Francis suffers setback with respiratory episodes
Speed Read The 88-year-old pope continues to battle pneumonia
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pope Francis hospitalized with 'complex' illness
Speed Read The Vatican says their leader has a respiratory infection, raising new concerns about his health
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Aga Khan, billionaire spiritual leader, dies at 88
Speed Read Prince Karim Al-Hussaini's philanthropy funded hospitals, housing and schools in some of the world's poorest places
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden awards Pope Francis highest US civilian honor
Speed Read President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Liverpool's Lourdes miracle
Under The Radar The inexplicable recovery of a young man more than a hundred years ago has been recognised as an official 'miracle' by the Archbishop of Liverpool
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Pope seeks inquiry on if Gaza assault is 'genocide'
Speed Read In a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis considers whether Israel's war in Gaza meets the legal definition of 'genocide'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published