(New York) Almost a third of Americans say they have no religion in 2021, a rising trend for years that reflects stronger secularization in the United States, where Christianity still dominates, according to the Pew Institute Research.
In a country known to be very religious, 29% of adults consider themselves to be “atheists, agnostics or without a particular religion”, against 16% in 2007, the first time the institute has measured this trend.
Christians remain in the majority, but only at 63% against 78% in 2007. Among them, it is among those who declare themselves Protestants that the decline is the strongest, from 52% to 40% since 2007, against 21% declared Catholics (24% in 2007). 6% of American adults identify with other religions, including Islam (1%), Judaism (1%), Buddhism (1%) and Hinduism (1%).
“The obvious secularization of American society in the 21ste century does not show any sign of slowing down, ”notes Pew Research, whose study does not compare with other countries. Another illustration, now, 45% of American adults say they pray daily, against 58% in 2007.
Among Protestants, Evangelicals remain in the majority, 60% defining themselves by this term or that of “born again”. In a previous study, Pew pointed out that 84% of white evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Data for 2021 is from the Pew Research Benchmark U.S. Public Opinion Poll (NPORS).