[Image courtesy of Munson under Creative Commons License]
1. Protestants are not in the majority
In 2007, the percentage of Protestants was 51.3%. As of 2014, it is 46.5%.
2. The highest percentage of religious people are “evangelicals,” not “progressives”
Evangelicals make up 25.4% of the population, a greater share than any other affiliation, including Catholics (20.8%) and Mainline Protestants (14.7%).
Evangelicals usually believe in biblical inerrancy and/or infallibility. What this means is that, when criticizing the Bible, the Anti-Religious are actually attacking the most prominent sect of religion in the United States (contrary to what many liberal Christians would have us believe). They also are more prone to have worse views of hell and homosexuality than Mainline Protestants — so critiques there are hitting their mark, as well. This focus is important, as Evangelicals seem to be holding stronger than most other religious groups (only a .9% decrease from 2007).
3. The number of Atheists, though still small, has nearly doubled since 2007, outpacing all Christian affiliations.
The number of atheists has nearly doubled from 1.6% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2014. This is small growth, but it is significant in that every other Christian affiliation has either shrunk or grown by only .1% of a percentage point from 2007 to 2014.
4. There are more Atheists than there are members of any Non-Protestant or Non-Catholic religion in the United States.
There are more Atheists (3.1%) in the United States than there are Orthodox Christians (0.5%), Mormons (1.6%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.8%), Christians who do not fit in any of the aformentioned categories (0.4%), those of the Jewish religion (1.9%), Muslims (.9%), Buddhists (.7%), Hindus (.7%), and all other religions not mentioned previously (1.8%). That’s pretty significant — if you’re campaigning for the rights of non-mainline positions on religions, Atheists make the short list.
5. There are now more Americans in the “Unaffiliated” category than there are Catholics
In 2007, the number of Catholics (23.9%) was larger than the number of the Unaffiliated (16.1%). As of 2014, the number of Catholics (20.8%) is less than the number of the Unaffiliated (22.8%).
6. The Unaffiliated are getting younger and the Christian population is getting older
The Unaffiliated (22.8%) have an average age of 36 (down from 38 in 2007) — about a third of those under the age of 30 are Unaffiliated. The average age of Mainline Protestants is 52 (up from 50 2007), and the average age of Catholic adults is 49 (up from 45 in 2007). The lowering age of the Unaffiliated indicates that more people in the next generation are leaving religion, and the rising age of Christians indicates that people are less likely to return to Christianity later in life — the ages are stagnantly and steadily rising; they don’t balloon around the age of 40 or so.
7. More Americans are having religiously mixed marriages
Among marriages that occurred since 1960, 19% were mixed in religion. However, among marriages that took place since 2010, 39% have been religiously mixed. The indication seems to be that religion is mattering less in considerations of compatibility in romantic relationships. As the Pew Forum noted, “The rise in intermarriage appears to be linked with the growth of the religiously unaffiliated population.”
8. Older people are leaving religion, too
As the Pew Forum states, “people in older generations are increasingly disavowing association with organized religion.” The share of those who are unaffiliated rose from 9% to 11% among those born from 1928-1945, from 14% to 17% among those born from 2007 to 2014, and from 19% to 23% for those born from 1965 to 1980. Again, people aren’t leaving religion and coming back.
People are leaving religion for good.
9. The probability is high that the son or daughter you raise religious will become unaffiliated.
It seems that people who are raised religious become unaffilated; they aren’t raised that way. What that means is that there is an increasingly high probability that your son or daughter who you are raising religious will switch over.
