How many Americans belong to each religion?
Most Americans are Christian, but fewer than before. Pew’s large 2023-24 study found about 62% of adults are Christian and 29% have no religion. About 7% belong to other faiths: roughly 2% Jewish and 1% each Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. The drop in Christians seems to have leveled off for now. So the country is neither as churchy nor as godless as cable news says.
1 · MindWhat people believe, and how they know
Pew Research Center surveyed 36,908 American adults between July 2023 and March 2024 for its Religious Landscape Study, published in February 2025. Pew found the Christian share, after years of decline, has been relatively stable since 2019. The “nones” (5 percent atheist, 6 percent agnostic, 19 percent “nothing in particular,” rounded) also seem to have leveled off, at least for now.
Here it is as if America were 100 neighbors on one street, using Pew’s own 100-person breakdown:
- 23 evangelical Protestants - 11 mainline Protestants - 5 in historically Black Protestant churches - 19 Catholics - 2 Latter-day Saints - 2 from other Christian groups - 29 with no religion - 2 Jewish - 1 Muslim, 1 Buddhist, 1 Hindu - 2 from a wide variety of other religions
Pew’s numbers are rounded, so the street doesn’t add up to exactly 100. Small groups are harder to measure precisely, so treat the 1s as “about 1.”
What each tradition or community says
Some find comfort that the decline has slowed. Others say a church that’s 62 percent of a country should probably act less like a besieged minority.
Nearly 3 in 10 neighbors have no religion. Many of them pray sometimes, believe in something, or simply live good lives without a label.
Being 1 in 100 means you explain yourself a lot. Many would trade a hundred explanations for one neighbor who already knows the basics.
2 · HeartWhat it feels like
Numbers can feel cold, but these are people. That Muslim neighbor is somebody’s mom. That Hindu neighbor coaches T-ball. The 29 nones include your cousin and maybe you.
If you’re in one of the small groups, the street can feel lonely. If you’re in a big one, it can be easy not to notice the small houses at all.
On a street of 100 neighbors, the Christians could outvote everyone and still lose an argument with the one Buddhist about patience. I’ve seen it.Neighbor Radio
3 · HandsHow to be a good neighbor
Look at your own life. Of your 10 closest friends, how many beliefs are represented? If the answer is one, it’s not a crime. It’s an invitation.
Learn the basics of the 1s on the street. They know a lot about you already. Return the favor.
This weekPick one faith from the bottom of the list and learn three true things about it from a source written by its own members.
Plain wordsWhat do these words mean?
- Atheist
- Someone who doesn’t believe in God or gods.
- Agnostic
- Someone who isn’t sure whether God exists, or thinks we can’t know.
- Evangelical
- Protestant Christians who stress a personal faith in Jesus, the Bible’s authority, and sharing the faith.
- Protestant
- Christian churches that came from the Reformation in the 1500s, like Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and many others.
- Catholic
- The largest Christian church in the world, led by the Pope in Rome.
Four questions to take with you
From Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, about the stranger who stopped to help. We call it the Samaritan Test.
- Did they see? Or look right past?
- Did they stop? Even when it was inconvenient?
- Did it cost them? Time, money, comfort, reputation?
- Did they treat the person like a person? Not like a label?
Try it on: the smallest group on your street. Do you see them, or only the big houses?
Quick questions
What percent of Americans are Christian?
About 62 percent of U.S. adults, according to Pew’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
How many Americans have no religion?
About 29 percent, according to the same study. Pew calls them the religiously unaffiliated or “nones.”
How many Muslims live in the U.S.?
About 1 percent of U.S. adults identify as Muslim in Pew’s study. Exact counts vary by survey.
- Pew Research Center, 2025: Religious Landscape Study executive summary
- Pew Research Center: About the Religious Landscape Study
- Pew Research Center, 2025: If the U.S. had 100 people, charting Americans' religious affiliations
Written in plain words by the Neighbor Radio team. Each faith's and community's section is checked by someone from that faith or community. Until then, this page says so. Spot something wrong? Tell us. We read every note and fix mistakes.