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Mapped: If America were 100 people, this is what they’d believe

Nearly 30 would be “nones” — an amorphous group that spans from zealous atheists to the vaguely spiritual.
A raised hand with bracelets is shown in focus against a blurred background of people indoors.
The share of Americans self-identifying as Christians has declined dramatically in the last 15 years – but that decline seems to have stabilised. (Credit: William DeShazer for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Key Takeaways
  • Over the past two decades, Christianity’s share of the U.S. population has fallen sharply — from 78% in 2007 to 63% today.
  • Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated (called “nones”) have nearly doubled to 29%.
  • But in recent years, Christianity seems to be stabilizing in the U.S.
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If the U.S. were only 100 people, this is what they’d believe: 63 are Christian, 30 are religiously unaffiliated, and 7 have a non-Christian faith.

This graph maps those differences out into more specific categories, bringing blink-of-an-eye clarity to a complex topic. But it does not show changes over time. And those changes add critical context.

A grid chart shows the religious affiliation of 100 Americans; Catholic, Evangelical, and Unaffiliated are the largest groups, followed by other Christian and non-Christian categories.
If Americans were 100 people, 63 would be Christian, 30 would be “nones”, and 7 would be adherents of non-Christian religions. (Credit: Ryan Burge on X)

The graph is based on the third of Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Studies. Taken together, they reveal a dramatic drop in the number of Americans self-identifying as Christian: from 78% in 2007, 71% in 2014, and down to 63% in its latest survey (2023-24).

That last figure, however, seems to be holding steady since 2019. In other words, the decline of Christianity in America appears to have stabilized. Here’s a closer look at the losses since 2007:

  • Protestants made up half of the American population in 2007 — if only just 51%. By 2023-24, that share had declined to 40%.
  • Among Protestants, the greatest decline was witnessed by Mainline Protestants (i.e. generally more progressive), which shrank from 18% to 11%.
  • There were smaller setbacks for Evangelical Protestants (typically more conservative), which went from 26% to 23%, and for Black Protestant churches (7% to 5%).
  • The Catholics shared in the decline, retreating from almost a quarter (24%) to less than a fifth (19%) of the overall population.
  • Smaller denominations did better: the Latter-day Saints (i.e. Mormons) kept their 2%, and the Orthodox Christians (part of the “other Christians”) stuck to 1%.

Altogether, in just a decade and a half, Christian denominations lost about 15% of the total population. Where did those formerly faithful go? Mostly not to other faiths, the numbers show, but rather to various categories of religious unaffiliation.

  • The ranks of these “Nones” (an umbrella term for atheists, agnostics, and “don’t-knows”) have swelled from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014 and 29% in the latest survey, an all-time high representing a cohort larger than all American evangelicals.
  • The greatest increase in absolute numbers was in those who don’t believe in anything in particular (12% in 2007, 19% in 2023-24).
  • However, there was greater relative increase in the numbers of both atheists, which more than doubled (2% to 5%), and agnostics, who saw their share triple (2% to 6%).
Street art of a person in a red basketball jersey holding a ball and waving, painted on a doorway along a cobblestone alley with buildings and pedestrians in the background.
There’s been a notable, if anecdotal, uptick in the interest in Catholicism – perhaps to do with the recent inauguration of the first American-born Pope. Pictured: a graffito of “The Chicago Pope” – Leo XIV with an American flag and a basketball, wearing a sports shirt showing his serial number, 14 – on a wall in Rome near the Vatican. (Credit: Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

Add up the Christians and the unaffiliated (mainly former Christians), and you’ve still got more than nine out of ten Americans. That is to say: the share of non-Christian religions, although growing fast, remains small overall. In 2007, 4.7% of U.S. adults identified with a religion other than Christianity. In 2023-24, that has gone up to 7.1%.

  • Over the three surveys, the share of Jewish Americans has remained steady (1.7%), with slight increases in the share of Buddhists (0.7% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2023-24) and Hindus (0.4% to 0.9%).
  • Muslims are the fastest-growing non-Christian group, tripling over 15 years (0.4% in 2007 to 1.2% in 2023-24).

When Pew publishes its next Religious Landscape Study, around 2030-31, what will this graph look like?

Anecdotal reports in the media seem to indicate a resurgence of interest in religion among younger generations, notably in the Catholic church — perhaps helped by the recent inauguration of its first American-born Pope. But it should be noted that people abandoning religion usually do so less vocally than those joining up. And, as the Pew study shows, the latter clearly outnumber the former, at least in recent years.

Perhaps that will change. God, or the Universe, works in mysterious ways.

For (a lot) more great graphs on religion in America, check out Ryan Burge’s feed on X.

Strange Maps #1280

Got a strange map? Let me know at strangemaps@gmail.com.

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