| Share
 
Society and Culture > Religion

Self-Described Religious Identification Among American Adults

Religious group200119901990
Total
(in thousands)		Percent of
population		Total
(in thousands)		Percent of
population
Total Christian159,50676.7%151,49686.4%
 Catholic50,87324.546,00426.2
 Baptist33,83016.333,96419.4
 Protestant14,6472.217,2149.8
 Methodist/Wesleyan14,1506.814,1748.1
 Lutheran9,5804.69,1105.2
 Christian114,1506.88,0734.6
 Presbyterian5,5962.74,9852.8
 Pentecostal/Charismatic4,4072.13,1911.8
 Episcopalian/Anglican3,4511.73,0421.7
 Mormon/Latter-day
 Saints		2,7871.32,4871.4
 Churches of Christ2,5931.21,7691.0
 Jehovah’s Witness1,3310.61,3810.8
 Seventh-Day Adventist7240.36680.4
 Assemblies of God1,1060.56600.4
 Holiness/Holy5690.36100.3
 Congregational/United
 Church of Christ		1,3780.75990.3
 Church of the Nazarene5440.35490.3
 Church of God9440.55310.3
 Orthodox (Eastern)6450.35020.3
 Evangelical21,0320.52420.1
 Mennonite3460.22350.1
 Christian Science1940.12140.1
 Church of the Brethren3580.22060.1
 Born Again2560.02040.1
 Nondenominational22,4891.21950.1
 Disciples of Christ4920.21440.1
 Reformed/Dutch Reform2890.11610.1
 Apostolic/New Apostolic2540.11170.1
 Quaker2170.167*
 Full Gospel1680.151*
 Christian Reform79*40*
 Foursquare Gospel70*28*
 Fundamentalist61*27*
 Salvation Army25*27*
 Independent
 Christian Church		71*25*
Total other religions 7,7403.7%5,8533.3
 Jewish32,8311.43,1371.8
 Muslim/Islamic1,1040.55270.3
 Buddhist1,0820.54010.2
 Unitarian/Universalist6290.35020.3
 Hindu7660.42270.1
 Native American 103*47*
 Scientologist55*45*
 Baha’i84*28*
 Taoist40*23*
 New Age68*20*
 Eckankar26*18*
 Rastafarian11*14*
 Sikh 57*13*
 Wiccan 1340.18*
 Deity 49*6*
 Druid33*(NA)—
 Santeria22*(NA)—
 Pagan1400.1(NA)—
 Spiritualist1160.1(NA)—
 Ethical Culture4*(NA)—
 Other unclassified3860.28370.5
No religion specified,
 total		29,48114.214,3318.2
 Atheist 9020.4(NA)—
 Agnostic9910.51,1860.7
 Humanist49*29*
 Secular 53*(NA)—
 No religion 27,48613.213,1167.5
Refused to reply
 to question 		11,2465.44,0312.3
NOTES: NA indicates not available. * Less than 0.05%.
1. No denomination supplied.
2. These categories are the most unstable as they do not refer to clearly identifiable denominations as much as underlying feelings about religion. Thus they may be the most subject to fluctuation over time.
3. Refers to Jews by religion only.
The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2001 was based on a random telephone survey of 50,281 American residential households in the continental U.S.A. (48 states). Respondents were asked to describe themselves in terms of religion with an open-ended question. The self-description of respondents was not based on whether established religious bodies considered them to be members; rather, the survey sought to determine whether the respondents themselves regarded themselves as adherents of a religious community. These figures thus represent subjective, rather than objective, standards of religious identification.
Source: 1990, Barry A. Kosmin and Seymour P. Lachman, '“One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society,”' 1993; 2001 data, Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, American Religious Identification Survey, 2001 (copyright). From Religion in a Free Market (Paramount Market Publishing, 2005).

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Top Ten Organized Religions of the WorldReligionU.S. Religious Sects Originating in the 19th Century

More on Self-Described Religious Identification Among American Adults from Infoplease:
A free, reliable Q&A site for homework help. Answerplease.com

24 X 7

Private Tutor

Click Here for Details
24 x 7 Tutor Availability
Unlimited Online Tutoring
1-on-1 Tutoring
Explore Free Math Answers , Indices