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Although some New England states continued to use tax money to fund local Congregational churches into the 1830s, the United States was the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 10 ("For the first time in recorded history, they designed a government with no established religion at all.")</ref>
Although some New England states continued to use tax money to fund local Congregational churches into the 1830s, the United States was the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 10 ("For the first time in recorded history, they designed a government with no established religion at all.")</ref>


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, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant 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.<ref>Marsden, George M. 1990. ''Religion and American Culture.'' Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, pp. 45–46.</ref>
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, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant 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.<ref>Marsden, George M. 1990. ''Religion and American Culture.'' Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,which then took a fart
pp. 45–46.</ref>


==Main religious preferences of Americans==
==Main religious preferences of Americans==

Revision as of 16:21, 16 December 2011

This article is about 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.
The Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, D.C., is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church.

Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices, and by a high adherence level. According to recent surveys, 83 percent of Americans claim to belong to a religious denomination, 40 percent claim to attend services nearly every week or more, and 58 percent claim to pray at least weekly.[1] A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed nations.[2] Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including both later imports spanning the country's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.[3]

The majority of Americans (60% to 76%) identify themselves as Christians, mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively.[4] Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc.), collectively make up about 3.9% to 5.5% of the adult population.[4][5][6] Another 15% of the adult population identifies as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation.[4] When asked, about 5.2% said they did not know, or refused to reply.[4] According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the "Unchurched Belt") report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.[4][7]

However, despite this seemingly high level of religiosity, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and their career was paramount.[8]

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is the largest Catholic church in the United States.

Text of the First Amendment to the country's Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." It guarantees the free exercise of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this as preventing the government from having any authority in religion.

History

Main article: History of religion in the United States

From the early colonial days, when English and German settlers came in search of religious freedom, America has been profoundly influenced by religion.[9] That influence continues in American culture, social life, and politics.[10]

Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their own religion without discrimination: the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by English Puritans (Congregationalists), Pennsylvania by British Quakers, Maryland by English Catholics, and Virginia by English Anglicans.

Freedom of religion

Although some New England states continued to use tax money to fund local Congregational churches into the 1830s, the United States was the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion.[11]

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, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant 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.[12]

Main religious preferences of Americans

The U.S. Census does not ask about religion. Various groups have conducted surveys to determine approximate percentages of those affiliated with each religious group. Some surveys ask people to self-identify, while others calculate church memberships. The first table below represents the ranges that have been found.

Religious affiliation in the U.S.
Source:PewForum[15]
Affiliation % of U.S.
population
Christian 78.5%
Evangelical Protestant 26.3%
Catholic 23.9%
Mainline Protestant 18.1%
Black church 6.9%
Mormon 1.7%
Jehovah's Witness 0.7%
Eastern Orthodox 0.6%
Other Christian 0.3%
Unaffiliated 16.1%
Nothing in particular 12.1%
Agnostic 2.4%
Atheist 1.6%
Non-Christian religions 4.6%
Jewish 1.7%
Buddhist 0.7%
Muslim 0.6%
Hindu 0.4%
Other 1.2%
Don't know/refused answer 0.8%

Christianity

Main article: Christianity in the United States
Crystal Cathedral, a Protestant megachurch in California that recently suffered severe financial problems. The property is currently up for sale.

The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (76% in 2008[4]). From those queried, roughly 51.3% of Americans are Protestants, 25% are Catholics, 1.7% are Mormon (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and 1.7% of various other Christian denominations.[16] Christianity was introduced during the period of European colonization.

By the 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, from which members in the United States are combined with Canadian members, and of the National Council of Churches, the five largest denominations are:[17]

Due to its large population and history, the United States has numerically more Christians (and more Protestants) than any other country in the world. Other countries, however, have higher percentages of Christians (and of Protestants) within their total populations.

Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. Among Protestants, Anglicans, Baptists, Puritans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Quaker, and Moravians were the first to settle to the US, spreading their faith in the new country.

The Spanish, French and English introduced Catholicism. Many Catholics came with the Hispanics/Latinos, Irish, Highland Scots, Italians, Dutch, Flemish, Polish, French, Hungarians, German, and Lebanese immigrants.

Greek, Ukrainian, 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 and Pentecostalism emerged, along with new Protestant denominations such as Adventism, and non-Protestant movements such as the Restoration Movement (which over time separated into the Churches of Christ, the Christian churches and churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)), the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, commonly referred to as 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), the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest of more than 200[18] distinctly named Protestant denominations.[19] Of the total population, Evangelicals comprise 26.3%, and Mainline Protestants 16%.[20]

The strength of various sects varies greatly in different regions of the country, with rural parts of the South (except Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, 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, especially due to the heavily Protestant African-American communities. As of 1990, nearly 72% of the population of Utah was Mormon, as well as 26% of neighboring Idaho.[21] Lutheranism is most prominent in the Upper Midwest, with North Dakota having the highest percentage, 35% according to a 2001 survey.[22]

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%.[4] 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."[23]

No religion / Unaffiliated

Main article: Irreligion in the United States

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.[4] Another nation-wide study puts the figure of unaffiliated persons at 16.1%.[24]

In a 2006 nationwide poll, University of Minnesota researchers 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.[25][26] However, the same study also reported that "The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one's exposure to diversity, education and political orientation--with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts."[27]

Judaism

Main article: American Jews
Beth-El Temple in Birmingham, Alabama

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.[4] 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.[28] 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.[29][30] ARIS 2008 estimated about 2.68 million people (1.2%) in the country identify Judaism as their faith.[4]

Jews have been present in what is now 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 about 2% of Americans belong to this group.[5] Approximately 25% of this population lives in New York City.[31]

A 2009 study estimated the Jewish population (including those who define themselves as Jewish by religion as well as those who define themselves as Jewish in cultural or ethnic terms) to be between 6.0 and 6.4 million.[32] According to a study done in 2000 there were an estimated 6,141,325 Jewish people in the country, about 2% of the population.[13] According to the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey,[33] 4.3 million American Jewish adults 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 attending Passover Seders or lighting Hanukkah candles on the other. 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 among previously secular American Jews, called baalei teshuva ("returners", see also Repentance in Judaism), returning to a more religious, in most cases, Orthodox, style of observance.[citation needed] 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.

Out of American Jews Orthodox make 33%, Conservative make 32%, Reform make 28%, Reconstructionist make 3%, and other make 4%.

Islam

Main article: Islam in the United States
The Islamic Center of Washington in the nation's capital is a leading American Islamic Center.

American Islam effectively began with the arrival of African slaves. It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves transported to the United States were Muslim.[34] Most, however, became Christians, and significant Muslim numbers awaited the arrival of immigrant populations from Arabic and East Asian Muslim areas.[35] Islam gained a higher profile through the Nation of Islam, a religious group that appealed to black Americans after the 1940s; its prominent converts included Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.[36][37] The first Muslim elected in Congress was Keith Ellison in 2006,[38] followed by Andre Carson in 2008.[39]

The Islamic Center of America in Michigan is the largest mosque in the United States

Research indicates that Muslims in the US are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe.[40][41] Surveys also suggest, however, that they are less assimilated than other American subcultural and religious communities, especially after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[42] Like other subcultural and religious communities, the Islamic community has generated its own political organizations and charity organizations.

Buddhism

Main article: Buddhism in the United States
Hsi Lai Temple (lit. Coming West Temple), a Buddhist monastery in Los Angeles, California

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.

Tibetan Buddhist temple in Seattle, Washington

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 India, 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[citation needed] (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%[4] and 0.9%,[14] with 0.7% reported by both the CIA[5] and PEW.[6]

Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in the United States
Detail of Malibu Hindu Temple in California

The first time Hinduism entered the US is not clearly identifiable. However, large groups of Hindus have immigrated from India and other Asian countries since the enactment of 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.

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.[24][30]

In 2004 the Hindu American Foundation—a national institution protecting rights the Hindu community of US—was founded.

Baha'i Faith

Main article: Bahá'í Faith by country § United States

The United States has perhaps the second largest Bahá'í community. It was established in 1894 by Ibrahim Kheiralla, a Syrian Bahá'í immigrant who later left the main group and founded a rival movement.[43]

Sikhism

Main article: Sikhism in the United States

Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. Around 1900, 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.[44]

"The first Sikh Gurdwara was built in Stockton, California; the Gurdwara was created in 1912 with joint efforts of Sardar Vasakha Singh and Bhai Jawala Singh. 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."[45]

New Thought Movement

Main article: New Thought
See also: History of New Thought

A group of churches which started in the 1830s in the United States is known under the banner of "New Thought". These churches share a spiritual, metaphysical and mystical predisposition and understanding of the Bible and were strongly influenced by the Transcendentalist movement particularly the work of Emerson. Another antecedent of this movement was Swedenborgianism, founded on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg in 1787.[46] The New Thought concept was named by Emma Curtis Hopkins ("teacher of teachers") after Hopkins broke off from Mary Baker Eddy's Church of Christ, Scientist the movement had been previously known as the Mental Sciences and or The Christian Sciences. The New Thought movement includes Divine Science, founded by Malinda Cramer and the Brook sisters; Religious Science founded by Ernest Holmes and Unity founded by Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore. The founders of these denominations all studied with Emma Curts Hopkins. Each of one these New Thought Churches has been influenced by a wide variety of ancient spiritual ideas.[47] Each of these churches identify to different degrees with Christianity, Unity and Divine Science being the most explicit in the use of the Bible. Unity and Religious Science each have over 900 centers each[citation needed] in the United States alone; Divine Science, the smallest of the three, is now experiencing a renewed growth.[citation needed]

Native American religious practice

Main article: Native American religion

Others

Many other religions are represented in the United States, including Jainism, Shinto, Taoism, Caodaism, Thelema, Wicca, Santería, Rastafari movement, Heathenism, Kemetism, Paganacht, Hellenism, Asatru, Theodism, Odinism, Religio Romana, Druidry, Zoroastrianism, Jediism and many forms of New Age spirituality.

Major denominations and sects founded in the U.S.

Government positions

The First Amendment guarantees both the free practice of religion and the non-establishment of religion by the federal government (later court decisions have extended that prohibition to the states).[48] The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was modified in 1954 to add the phrase "under God", in order to distinguish itself from the state atheism espoused by the Soviet Union.[49][50][51][52]

Various American presidents have often stated the importance of religion. On February 20, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that "Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism."[53] President Gerald Ford agreed with and repeated this statement in 1974.[54]

Belief in a God

Various polls have been conducted to determine Americans' actual beliefs regarding God:

  • A 2006 CBS News Poll of 899 U.S. adults found that 76% 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.[citation needed]
  • A 2008 survey of 1,000 people concluded that, based on their stated beliefs rather than their religious identification, 70% of Americans believe in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist or agnostic, and another 12% are deistic (believing in a higher power/non-personal God, but no personal God).[4]
  • A late 2009 online Harris poll of 2,303 U.S. adults (18 and older)[55] found that "82% of adult Americans believe in God", the same number as in two earlier polls in 2005 and 2007. Another 9% said they did not believe in God, and 9% said that they were not sure. It further concluded, "Large majorities also believe in miracles (76%), heaven (75%), that Jesus is God or the Son of God (73%), in angels (72%), the survival of the soul after death (71%), and in the resurrection of Jesus (70%). Less than half (45%) of adults believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution but this is more than the 40% who believe in creationism..... Many people consider themselves Christians without necessarily believing in some of the key beliefs of Christianity. However, this is not true of born-again Christians. In addition to their religious beliefs, large minorities of adults, including many Christians, have "pagan" or pre-Christian beliefs such as a belief in ghosts, astrology, witches and reincarnation."

Church attendance

Gallup International indicates that 41%[56] of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens,[57] and 7.5% of Australian citizens.[58]

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.

By state

Church or synagogue attendance by state. Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.

Church attendance varies considerably 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[59]
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 (U.S. state) 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%

Religion and politics

Main article: Religion and politics in the United States
The U.S. guarantees freedom of religion and some churches in the U.S. take strong stances on political subjects.

In August 2010 67% of Americans said religion is losing influence, compared with 59% who said this in 2006. Majorities of white evangelical Protestants (79%), while mainline Protestants (67%), Black Protestants (56%), Catholics (71%), and the religiously unaffiliated (62%) all agree that religion is losing influence on American life; 53% of the total public says this is a bad thing while just 10% see it as a good thing.[60]

Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning, and Fundamentalist and Black Protestants are highly politically active. However, to keep their status as tax-exempt organizations they must not officially endorse a candidate. Historically Catholics were heavily Democrats before the 1970s, while mainline Protestants comprised the core of the Republican Party. Those patterns have faded away—Catholics, for example, now split about 50–50. However, white evangelicals since 1980 have made up a solidly Republican group that favors conservative candidates. Secular voters are increasingly Democratic.[61]

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

  • Alfred E. Smith in presidential election of 1928 was hammered with anti-Catholic rhetoric, which seriously hurt him in the Baptist areas of the South and Lutheran areas of the Midwest, but he did well in the Catholic urban strongholds of the Northeast.
  • John F. Kennedy secured the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960. In the 1960 election, Kennedy faced accusations that as a Roman Catholic President he would do as the Pope would tell him to do, a charge that Kennedy refuted in a famous address to Protestant ministers.
  • John Kerry won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. In the 2004 election religion was hardly an issue, and most Catholics voted for his Protestant opponent.[62]

Joe Biden is the first Catholic vice president.[63]

The only Jewish major party candidate was Joe Lieberman in the Gore-Lieberman campaign of 2000 (although John Kerry and Barry Goldwater both had Jewish ancestry).

In 2006 Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to Congress; when re-enacting his swearing-in for photos, he used the copy of the Qur'an once owned by Thomas Jefferson.[64]

A Gallup Poll released in 2007[65] indicated that 53% of Americans would refuse to vote for an atheist as president, up from 48% in 1987 and 1999. In fact, there is a single American congressman who is openly non-theistic, Pete Stark.

See also: Religious affiliations of United States Presidents and Religious Affiliation in the United States Senate

Membership reported by congregations

Christian bodies

The table below is based mainly on data reported by individual denominations to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, and published in 2011 by the National Council of Churches of Christ in USA. It only includes religious bodies reporting 60,000 or more members. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body.[66]

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 2009 12,371 2,914 34,504
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
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
Christian churches and 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 (Mormons) 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
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
Jehovah's Witnesses 1999 11,064 1,040 -
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
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

ARDA survey

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) surveyed congregations for their memberships. Churches were asked for their membership numbers. Adjustments were made for those congregations that did not respond and for religious groups that reported only adult membership.[67] ARDA estimates that most of the churches not responding were black Protestant congregations. Significant difference in results from other databases include the lower representation of adherents of 1> all kinds (62.7%), 2>Christians (59.9%) 3>Protestants (less than 36%); and the greater number of unaffiliated (37.3%).

Religious groups
Religious group number
in year
2000		 % in
year
2000
Total US pop year 2000 281,421,839 100.0%
Evangelical Protestant 39,994,852 14.2%
Mainline Protestant 26,091,321 9.3%
Protestant (evangelical+mainline) 66,086,173 23.5%
Catholic 62,035,042 22.0%
Orthodox 989,106 0.4%
adherents (unadjusted) 141,364,420 50.2%
unclaimed 140,057,419 49.8%
adjustment for non-responses (mostly black Protestant congregations) 35,112,928 12.5%
total adherents (adjusted) 176,477,348 62.7%
non-affiliated (unclaimed - adjustment) 104,944,491 37.3%
other - including Mormon & Christ Scientist 12,254,099 4.4%
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon, LDS) 4,224,026 1.5%
other - excluding Mormon 8,030,073 2.9%
Jewish estimate 6,141,325 2.2%
Buddhist estimate 2,000,000 0.7%
Muslim estimate 1,559,294 0.6%
Hindu estimate 1,110,000 0.4%
Source: ARDA[13]

ARIS findings regarding self-identification

Plurality of religious preference by state, 2001. Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.
Percentage of religion against average, 2001.
Percentage of state populations that identify with a religion rather than "no religion", 2001.

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[4]
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[4]
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:[4]

  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 seven 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.

Ethnicity

The table below shows the religious affiliations among the ethnicities in the United States, according to the Pew Forum 2007 survey.[68] People of Black ethnicity were most likely to be part of a formal religion, with 85% percent 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%

See also

References

  1. ^ Robert D. Putnam and David E Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010) ch 1 at note 5
  2. ^ "U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion". Pew Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  3. ^ Eck, Diana (2002). A New Religious America : the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. HarperOne. p. 432. ISBN 978-0060621599. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (2009). "AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (ARIS) 2008" (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Trinity College. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  5. ^ a b c d "CIA Fact Book". CIA World Fact Book. 2002. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  6. ^ a b c "Religious Composition of the U.S." (PDF). U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  7. ^ Newport, Frank (2008-07-28). "Belief in God Far Lower in Western U.S." The Gallup Organization. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  8. ^ http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/poll-shows-that-only-a-few-americans-consider-religious-faith-an-important-part-of-life/
  9. ^ Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (Yale UP, 2nd ed. 2004) ISBN 0-300-10012-4
  10. ^ Kevin M. Schultz, and Paul Harvey, "Everywhere and Nowhere: Recent Trends in American Religious History and Historiography", Journal of the American Academy of Religion, March 2010, Vol. 78 Issue 1, pp. 129–162
  11. ^ Feldman, Noah (2005). Divided by God. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 10 ("For the first time in recorded history, they designed a government with no established religion at all.")
  12. ^ Marsden, George M. 1990. Religion and American Culture. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,which then took a fart pp. 45–46.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), Year 2000 Report". ARDA. 2000. Retrieved 2011-06-04. Churches were asked for their membership numbers. ARDA estimates that most of the churches not reporting were black Protestant congregations.
  14. ^ a b "The Religious Freedom Page". University of Virginia Library.
  15. ^ "US Religious Landscape Survey". Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  16. ^ Paulson, Michael (2008-02-26). "US religious identity is rapidly changing". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe
  17. ^ News from the National Council of Churches
  18. ^ Gaustad 1962.
  19. ^ http://www.sbcec.net/bor/2007/2007SBCAnnual.pdf
  20. ^ Microsoft Word - Religious Landscape 2004.doc
  21. ^ "Largest Latter-day Saint Communities (Mormon/Church of Jesus Christ Statistics)". adherents.com. 2005-04-12.
  22. ^ "American Religious Identification Survey". Exhibit 15. The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
  23. ^ "Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years". The Barna Group. 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  24. ^ a b http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf
  25. ^ "Atheists Are Distrusted". May 3, 2006. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  26. ^ Paulos, John Allen (April 2, 2006). "Who's Counting: Distrusting Atheists". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  27. ^ "Atheists identified as America's most distrusted minority, according to new U of M study". UMN News. Retrieved 2006-03-22.
  28. ^ While Most Americans Believe in God, Only 36% Attend a Religious Service Once a Month or More Often
  29. ^ "RELIGION AND IDENTITY: HISPANICS & JEWS". Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  30. ^ a b "American Religious Identification Survey". Retrieved 2007-12-25.
    Kosmin, Mayer & Keysar (2001-12-19). "American Identification Survey, 2001" (PDF). The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  31. ^ "Jewish Community Study of New York" (PDF). United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York. 2002. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  32. ^ Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky, University of Miami and University of Connecticut (2009). "Jewish Population of the United States, 2009" (PDF). Mandell L. Berman North American Jewish Data Bank in cooperation with the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry and the Jewish Federations of North America. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |url2= ignored (help) The authors concluded the 6,543,820 figure was an over-count, due to people who live in more than one state during a year.
  33. ^ "2001 National Jewish Population Survey".
  34. ^ Tweed, Thomas A. "Islam in America: From African Slaves to Malcolm X". National Humanities Center. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  35. ^ Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order (Cambridge University Press; 2010) pp. 59–94
  36. ^ Mattias Gardell, In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam (Duke University Press, 1996)
  37. ^ C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Muslims in America (3rd ed. Eerdmans, 1994)
  38. ^ First Muslim Elected to Congress CBS News. Retrieved on 2009-11-22.
  39. ^ Second Muslim elected to Congress Reuters. Retrieved on 2009-11-22.
  40. ^ Zogby phone survey
  41. ^ "America's Muslims after 9/11". Voice of America.
  42. ^ Muslim Americans Pew Research Center. Retrieved on 2009-07-03.
  43. ^ Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions (2003) pp. 992–995
  44. ^ The Pioneers, America, "A historical perspective of Americans of Asian Indian origin 1790-1997" October 31, 2006
  45. ^ Stockton Gurdwara, America, "Stockton California" October 31, 2006
  46. ^ William James, "The Varieties of Religious Experience". pp. 92-93. New York 1929
  47. ^ "New Thought. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07"
  48. ^ Deisher, Beth and William Gibbs, eds., Coin World Almanac, Sidney, Ohio: Amos Press, 2000.
  49. ^ Thomas Berg. "The Pledge of Allegiance and the Limited State". Texas Review of Law and Politics, Vol. 8, Fall 2003. SSRN 503622. The inclusion of "under God" in the Pledge, the report says, "would serve to deny the atheistic and materialistic conceptions of communism with its attendant subservience of the individual.
  50. ^ Scott A. Merriman. Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief and Public Policy. ABC-CLIO. Retrieved 2007–10–18. The United States, wanting to distinguish itself from the USSR and its atheist positions, went to great extremes to demonstrate that God was still supreme in this country. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  51. ^ Natalie Goldstein, Walton Brown-Foster. Religion and the State. Infobase Publishing. Retrieved 2007–10–18. In the early 1950s, a Presbyterian minister in New York gave a sermon in which he railed against the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance because it contained no references to God. According to the reverend, the American pledge could serve just as well in the atheistic Soviet Union; there was nothing in the U.S. pledge to distinguish it from an oath to the godless communist state. So in 1954, Congress passed a law that inserted the phrase "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  52. ^ Ann W. Duncan, Steven L. Jones. Church-State Issues in America Today: Volume 2, Religion, Family, and Education. Præger. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Including God in the nation's pledge would send a clear message to the world that unlike communist regimes that denied God's existence, the United States recognized a Supreme Being. Official acknowledgement of God would further distinguish freedom-loving Americans from their atheist adversaries. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  53. ^ John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge. God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World. Penguin Books. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism," he decared in a speech launching the American Legion's "Back to God" campaign in 1955. "Without God, there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  54. ^ William J. Federer. Back Fired. Amerisearch. Retrieved 2007–10–18. In a National Day of Prayer Proclamation, December 5, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford, quoted President Dwight David Eisenhower's 1955 statement: Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first - the most basic - expression of Americanism. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  55. ^ "What People Do and Do Not Believe in" (PDF). Harris Interactive. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  56. ^ "How many people go regularly to weekly religious services?". Religious Tolerance website.
  57. ^ "'One in 10' attends church weekly". BBC News. April 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  58. ^ NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance, National Church Life Survey, Media release, February 28, 2004
  59. ^ [1]
  60. ^ Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, "Religion Losing Influence in America", online
  61. ^ Pew Forum: Religion and the 2006 Elections
  62. ^ see 2004 Exit poll
  63. ^ see NPR report
  64. ^ Michael Isikoff, "I'm a Sunni Muslim", Newsweek Jan. 4, 2007
  65. ^ Jeffrey M. Jones (2007-02-20). "Some Americans Reluctant to Vote for Mormon, 72-Year-Old Presidential Candidates. Strong support for black, women, Catholic candidates". Gallup News Service. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  66. ^ see "Trends continue in church membership growth or decline, reports 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches", News from the National Council of Churches (Feb. 14, 2011)
  67. ^ "ARDA Sources for Religious Congregations & Membership Data". ARDA. 2000. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  68. ^ U.S.Religious Landscape Survey Pew Forum (February 2008). Retrieved on 2009-01-02.

Bibliography

  • Buck, Christopher (2009). Religious myths and visions of America: how minority faiths redefined America's world role. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 9780313359590..
  • De La Torre, Miguel A., Encyclopedia on Hispanic American Religious Culture 2 vol, ABC-CLIO Publishers, 2009.
  • Gaustad, Edwin (1962). "Historical atlas of religion in America" (Document). Harper & Row. {{cite document}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help).
  • Gordon, Melton, J. Encyclopedia of American Religions (7th ed. Thomson, 2003) 1408pp
  • Hill, Samuel S., Charles H. Lippy, and Charles Reagan Wilson, eds. Encyclopedia of Religion in the South (2005)
  • Lippy, Charles H., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience (3 vol Scribners, 1988)
  • National Council of the Churches of Christ. Yearbook of American Churches: 2010 (2010)
  • Putnam, Robert D., and David E Campbell American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010) excerpt and text search
  • Queen, Edward L. et al. eds, Encyclopedia of American Religious History (3rd ed. 3 vol, Facts on File, 2009)
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