ARTICLE

The Europeanisation Of The United States: 1% Less Christians Per Year

News Image By Evangelical Focus September 19, 2022
Share this article:

The United States is following the secularization path of Western Europe, as the number of people who identify as Christians continues to fall. 

According to the latest report published by Pew Research, only 63% of US citizens self-identify as Christians, 10% less than in 2011 (73%). In 2007, the number was close to eight in ten (78%).

In contrast, it is the group of "nones" (atheists, agnostics or "nothing in particular") that grows, from 16% in 2007 to 29% now.

"Christians now outnumber religious 'nones' by a ratio of a little more than two-to-one", said the Pew Research Center. "In 2007, when the Center began asking its current question about religious identity, Christians outnumbered 'nones' by almost five-to-one".


Protestantism's fall in numbers

It is the group of Protestant Christians, the biggest religious confession in the US, which suffers the largest losses. Exactly 50% identified as Protestants ten years ago, now only 40% do so. This figure includes mainline Protestants, Evangelical Christians (Baptists, Pentecostals, etc) and some other minority groups.

"Currently, 60% of Protestants say 'yes' when asked whether they think of themselves as a 'born-again or evangelical Christian', while 40% say 'no' or decline to answer the question", says the report.

Catholicism, on the other hand, remains stable, with 21% of the population self-identifying with the Roman Church (three points less than in 2011).

Mormons (2%) and Orthodox Christians (1%) continue to be small minorities.


Daily prayer

Asked about the role of prayer in their lives, 45% said they pray every day, down from the 55% that said so in 2014.

One third of US citizens now say they never pray, almost twice as many as in 2007.

41% say religion is "very important" in their lives (down -15% since 2007) while 33% say it is "not too important / not at all important" (up +17% since 2007).

When Protestants are asked about church attendance, it is evangelical Christians who say they are more committed to their Christian community: 63% join a worship service at least once a month (a number that goes up to 70% in the case of black evangelicals). Only 32% of other Protestants attend a church service once a month.
 

The secularization of Western Europe

These newest data seem to confirm that the United States follows the path of secularization of European countries.

Recent data in the UK show that self-described Christians are close to fall under the 50% line, as being non-religious is already the main option among those aged 25 or less.   

In the Netherlands, the number of Protestants is on a historic low (14%) and Christianity is no longer the default religion for the members of the Royal family.  

In Germany it is surprisingly the young people who say they believe most in God and eight in ten say they have prayed at least once.

In the last 20 years, Roman Catholicism has lost 20 percentage points in Spain, as evangelical Christians have multiplied eightfold and now represent 2% of the population.

Originally published at Evangelical Focus - reposted with permission.




Other News

May 08, 2025You Thought Your Phone Tracked You? Meet Your Car

A recent survey by the American Automobile Association found that more than 80% of consumers are unaware their vehicle collects and shares...

May 08, 2025God Moves In California: Mass Baptisms Challenge The Woke Narrative

Another sign of the incredible spiritual movement shaping America just kicked off this Saturday. Thousands of people stood on the shores o...

May 08, 2025The Danger Of Looking To AI 'Companions' To Solve America's Loneliness Epidemic

Americans are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pitching artificial intelligence (AI) "companions" as...

May 08, 2025Israel Prepares For Final Push Against Hamas With 'Gideon's Chariots'

Israeli troops are set to "act with great force" and will stay in every area that is taken in Gaza unless a hostage deal is reached by May...

May 06, 2025Echoes Of Babel: When Man Builds Towers With Code

AI is not neutral. It is shaped by the datasets it is trained on, which are themselves reflections of cultural, political, and ideological...

May 06, 2025Rainbow Ratings? Churches To Be Ranked By LGBT Activist Group

In an act that should alarm every freedom-loving Canadian, a government-funded LGBT activist organization has launched a campaign to creat...

May 06, 2025Faith leaders: State's Newest Trans Scheme Actually Codifies 'Evil'

Colorado, run for multiple years already by Democrats in the governor's office, Democrat majorities in the state House and Senate, and an ...

Get Breaking News