After decades of steady decline, the proportion of Americans who identify as Christians appears to have stabilised, according to a major new survey by the Pew Research Center. Moreover, the youngest age group surveyed – the 18 to 24-year-olds – seems to be somewhat more religious than age groups immediately above them. This is similar to polling finding here in Ireland, both in the North and the South.
The survey is called the ‘Religious Landscape Study’ (RLS). It is a vast project involving almost 37,000 adults. Becaure the US census does not collect information on religion, the RLS is the country’s most authoritative measure of religious composition.
An important finding is that for the first time in years, the youngest adults in the United States are more likely to identify as Christians than other young people. Fifty-one percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 identify as Christian compared with 45pc of those aged 24 to 34.
Aside from the two polls commissioned by the Iona Institute, a recent survey from Britain showed the same pattern.
These findings challenge the assumption that each new age cohort will be less religious than the one before, suggesting instead that a plateau in secularisation may have been reached.
Even more striking is a subtle but significant gender shift within these younger groups. Historically, across every age cohort, American women have tended to be more religious than men. Yet among today’s young adults, this pattern has reversed, according to the Pew Center survey. Young men are slightly more likely than young women to say that religion is “very important” in their lives. This reversal, if it continues, would mark a major cultural change in the gender profile of American religiosity.
Despite the stabilisation among Christians, a substantial minority of the population say they have no religion. Nearly three in ten Americans now call themselves atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular”, up from 23pc in 2014 and just 16pc in 2007. However, the rate of growth is slower than in recent years. The shift is visible across the political spectrum, but it is much more pronounced among liberals than among conservatives. A large majority of conservatives still identify as Christian, according to the survey.
Within American Christianity itself, Protestants remain the largest group, making up 40pc of adults, while Catholics account for 19pc. Both proportions have declined significantly since 2007. However, the Protestant share has held relatively steady since 2019, and the Catholic share has shown little change since 2014, with only minor year-to-year fluctuations.
The survey also highlights demographic differences that may shape future trends. Christians report an average completed fertility rate of 2.2 children per respondent, compared with 1.8 among the religiously unaffiliated and 1.8 among followers of non-Christian religions. Higher birth rates among Christians may help keep numbers steady, but what also matters in the long run is whether children raised Christian stay Christian as adults.
Together, these findings suggest that the long decline of Christianity in the United States may have paused, and that the youngest generation, far from accelerating secularisation, may be playing a part in this unexpected stabilisation.
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