New Poll: Nearly 30% of Americans have no Religious Affiliation

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new survey by the Pew Research Center shows that 29% of US adults say they have no religious affiliation, the Washington Examiner reports. The poll defines those who are unaffiliated as “people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or ‘nothing in particular’ when asked about their religious identity.”

Carried out between 2020 and 2021 online and by mail, the survey shows that only 63% of US adults now identify as Christian, a drop from 78% in 2007. According to the survey, Protestant churches have seen a 4% decrease in affiliation, a drop from 10% from 2011, the Examiner said.

When asked by Pew researchers if they consider themselves to be “born again” or “evangelical” Christians, 60% of Protestant participants answered “yes.” The remainder either said “no” or did not answer the question.

The study found that 48% of White Protestants identify as evangelical, while 42% answered “no” or did not respond. On the other hand, 66% of Black Protestants identify as evangelical and 33% as non-evangelical.

The Pew research found that just 45% of US adults pray every day, a drop from 58% in 2007. The study additionally showed that that the percentage of those who rarely or never pray rose from 18% in 2007 to 32% this year, the Examiner said.

“The secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st-century show no signs of slowing,” Gregory A. Smith, Pew’s associate director of research said in the report.

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