Gallup: Religious affiliation in US stable for past 5 years

Gallup: Religious affiliation in US remained stable for past 5 years

Religious affiliation has largely remained stable in the US in the past five years, with almost no gains or losses in any particular denomination, according to a new Gallup report.

Gallup found that in 2024, 45% of Americans considered themselves Protestant, 21% identified as Catholic, 22% said they had no religion, and 10% belonged to another religion. In 2020, 46% were Protestant, 22% were Catholic, 20% had no religion, and 9% belonged to a different religion.

The miniscule changes contrast with the decline in religiosity seen since 2000, Gallup noted. The largest change since then was among “nones,” rising to about one-fifth of Americans from just 8%. Protestant Americans also experienced a large change since 2000, declining 12 percentage points. The Catholic population declined only four percentage points across the same timeframe.

Gallup also found that the decline in religiosity is largely driven by younger generations, as more than 30% of Gen Zers and millennials are “nones.”

“In fact, among young adults, religious ‘nones’ rival Protestants as the largest religious subgroup,” Gallup reported.

Only about 56% of Gen Zers and millennials identify as Christian, contrasting with the more than 70% of those in Gen X or older generations who identify as Protestant or Catholic.

Gallup additionally noted, “While non-Christian religious affiliations are not common in any generation — ranging from 3% to 5% — younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to identify with a non-Christian religion. This is primarily because of differences in Muslim identification …”

The survey also discovered that the religious decline is not entirely driven by population replacement, as with each generation, greater numbers of adults continue to report identifying as “nones.”

“If substantial shares of adults in future U.S. generations continue to eschew religion,” Gallup reported, “Christian religious identification will drop into the 50% range once the millennial generation becomes the oldest generation of Americans, if not sooner.”