2023 PRRI Census of American Religion includes county-level data on religious identity and diversity

WASHINGTON (August 29, 2024) — Today, PRRI is releasing its 2023 PRRI Census of American Religion, providing an updated analysis on religious trends in America, including new, comprehensive county-level estimates on religious affiliation and diversity in the United States.

Based on data from roughly 500,000 cases between 2014-2023, the new census report reveals the shifting dynamics of American religious affiliation across geography, race and ethnicity, age, and political affiliation. Because there is no measure of religious affiliation on any U.S. Census Bureau product, the PRRI Census of American Religion is the most comprehensive resource available on religious diversity in America.

“PRRI’s latest findings on religious demography tell important stories about change and continuity in America,” noted Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. PRRI CEO. “While the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans continues to increase, white Christians are declining as a portion of the U.S. population due to increasing disaffiliation and growing racial and ethnic diversity. At the same time, about one in four Americans are Christians of color — a group that has remained relatively consistent throughout the last decade.”

Key Findings on Religious Affiliation and Diversity

Over the last decade, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religious tradition has increased by 6 percentage points from 21% in 2013 to 27% in 2023.  Disaffiliation is no longer only the province of the youngest Americans — compared with 2013, growing numbers of older Americans are also leaving their religious traditions.

As the nation becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, the percentage of white Christians has also declined. In 2023, white Christians made up 41% of the American population, notably down from 57% in 2006.  By contrast, in 2023, one-quarter of Americans identify as Christians of color (25%), similar to 2013.

Compared with the median age of all Americans (48), white Catholics are the oldest group of religious Americans, with a median age of 58, followed by Jewish Americans and white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants, whose median age is 56.  The median age of white evangelical Protestants is 54.  The median age of most other minority faiths, including Muslims, Hindus, and Latter-day Saints, as well as the religiously unaffiliated, trends much lower.

The report finds that religious diversity is highest in major urban centers such as Montgomery County, Maryland; Kings County, New York; Montgomery County, Pa.; and several of the largest counties in New York and California. By contrast, there is less religious diversity in rural areas and in the deep South.

Democrats Are More Religiously Diverse, While Republicans Are More White and Christian

Majorities of both major political parties identify as Christian. However, Republicans (84%) are 25 percentage points more likely than Democrats (59%) to do so. The biggest difference in the religious makeup of self-identified Republicans and Democrats is the proportion of white Christians, compared with Christians of color and the religiously unaffiliated. Seven in ten Republicans (70%) identify as white and Christian, compared with just 24% of Democrats. Christians of color are more than twice as likely to be represented within the Democratic party (35%) than in the GOP (14%). One-third of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, compared with 12% of Republicans. 

Other Key Trends and Findings From the Report

• White evangelical Protestants make up 13% of the American population, a decline of 4 percentage points from 2013. White evangelical Protestants are most heavily concentrated in counties in the South and the southern Midwest.
• White mainline/non-evangelical Protestants make up 13% of the population, roughly similar to 2013 (14%). They are spread around the country more broadly than white evangelical Protestants, with the heaviest concentrations in counties in the Midwest.
• White Catholics make up 12% of Americans, the same as in 2013, and are more likely to be located in the Northeast, Midwest, and Louisiana.
• Hispanic Catholics make up 8% of Americans, the same as in 2013, and are more concentrated in the Southwest and West, particularly in states that share a border with Mexico. Hispanic Protestants, who make up 4% of Americans, are also predominately found in the Southwest and West.
•  Black Protestants make up 8% of Americans, the same as in 2013 and are predominantly concentrated in Southern states and metropolitan areas in the Midwest and Northeast.
• Younger Americans are more religiously diverse. Senior Americans (58%) are about twice as likely as young Americans ages 18-29 (30%) and ages 30-49 (32%) to identify as white Christians. By contrast, senior Americans (18%) are about 10 percentage points less likely than younger age groups to identify as Christians of color (26%, 27%, 27%, respectively).
• Hindu and Jewish Americans are most likely to have college and postgraduate degrees. Majorities of Hindu (68%), Jewish (65%), Orthodox Christian (55%), Unitarian Universalist (54%), and Buddhist (53%) Americans have four-year college degrees or higher.
• Black Americans and Hispanic Americans identify as Christian at higher rates than others. More than seven in ten Black Americans (72%) are Christian and three-fourths of Hispanic Americans (75%) identify as Christian, with around half (48%) identifying as Catholic.

Methodology

The 2023 PRRI Census of American Religion is drawn from roughly 500,000 cases to generate county-level estimates for each religious affiliation in 3,142 counties in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Ipsos employed a technique called Bayesian Dirichlet small area estimation (SAE) to generate the estimates. The SAE estimates have varying measurement error based on the size of the county and the number of surveys completed in each county. Smaller counties have larger measurement errors. For more detailed information about the methodology of the 2023 PRRI Census of American Religion, read the full methodology included in the report.

This project was made possible through the generous support of the Arcus Foundation, the Gill Foundation, the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. The report also includes 2023 demographic information drawn from a random sample of 40,000 adults (age 18 and up) living in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, in the United States who are part of Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel. The margin of error for the 2023 national sample estimates is +/- 0.7 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence, including the design effect of 1.9.

About PRRI 

PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics.

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