Americans have become more and more detached from religious affiliations over the past decade, the fastest religious shift in modern history, polls show.
In an interview with WTOP, Axios reporter Russell Contreras cited data from a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute that says in 2024, 28% of Americans viewed themselves as “religiously unaffiliated.” That represents an increase from 16% in 2013, he said.
The PRRI poll sampled 40,000 adults living in the U.S. who gave their religious affiliation.
That drop in affiliation goes hand in hand with a historic number of churches closing in the United States, Contreras said.
“We expect 15,000 churches to close by the end of the year, and only four in 10 Americans under the ages of 18 to 29 identify as religiously unaffiliated. So this is a 38% increase — young people are just not going to church,” Contreras told WTOP.
The drop in churchgoing is particularly high among the Gen Z demographic in the United States, he said, pointing out that attendance among Gen Z men is flat, despite some saying it’s growing.
“But here’s the deal, Gen Z women are the ones who are not going to church. They’re more likely to identify as religiously unaffiliated, and that is alarming,” Contreras said. “Some church officials say if we lose women, especially young women, we will have a lot of trouble in the future.”
Churches were important places to meet voters
The decline stems from numerous factors, such as political polarization and a lack of faith in institutions. As a result, the religious shift has made it harder for political parties and candidates to reach voters, according to Contreras.
He said that for many years, political parties knew where to go to rally votes, such as a local Catholic or Protestant church, and these places also served as voting precincts.
“It’s getting increasingly harder to outreach to voters when you had this particular community that was a mine for voters,” Contreras said. “Right now, political candidates are going to have to work very hard. Because the religiously unaffiliated don’t go to church, it’s hard to get them. You have to spend more money to outreach to them.”
So, who goes to church more, Republicans or Democrats?
Within the Republican Party, the largest group are white Christians, making up about 68% of the Party, Contreras said. Only 12% identify as religiously unaffiliated, he said, citing the PRRI poll.
On the Democratic side, 34% of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, while Christians of color make up 35% of the party.
“The Democrats are very more religiously pluralistic, whereas the Republicans are mainly white Christians,” he said. “If that is true, Republicans will face a difficult challenge in the future with a declining base.”
Despite more Americans losing their love of religion, Bible sales have gone up 11% this year over 2024, according to data from Circana, which tracks book sales.
However, only 49% of Americans believe that religion is important in their lives, according to a Gallup survey.
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