https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/
The American Religious
Landscape in 2020
Seven in ten Americans
(70%) identify as Christian, including more than four in ten who identify as
white Christian and more than one-quarter who identify as Christian of color.
Nearly one in four Americans (23%) are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% identify
with non-Christian religions.[1]
(Following are the 7 paragraphs in the article
that mention Jehovah’s Witnesses)
The most substantial
cultural and political divides are between white Christians and Christians of
color. More than four in ten Americans (44%) identify as white Christian,
including white evangelical Protestants (14%), white mainline (non-evangelical)
Protestants (16%), and white Catholics (12%), as well as small percentages who
identify as Latter-day Saint (Mormon), JEHOVAH’S WITNESS, and Orthodox
Christian[2]. Christians of color include Hispanic Catholics (8%),
Black Protestants (7%), Hispanic Protestants (4%), other Protestants of color
(4%), and other Catholics of color (2%)[3]. The rest of religiously affiliated Americans
belong to non-Christian groups, including 1% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim, 1%
Buddhist, 0.5% Hindu, and 1% who identify with other religions. Religiously
unaffiliated Americans comprise those who do not claim any particular religious
affiliation (17%) and those who identify as atheist (3%) or agnostic (3%).
White Evangelical
Protestants are the Oldest Religious Group
White evangelical Protestants are the oldest religious group in the U.S., with
a median age of 56, compared to the median age in the country of 47. White
Catholics and Unitarian Universalists have median ages of 54 and 53 years old,
respectively. Black Protestants and white mainline Protestants have a median
age of 50. All other groups have median ages below 50: JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
(49), Jewish Americans (48), Latter-day Saints (47), Orthodox Christians (42),
Hispanic Catholics (42), Hispanic Protestants (39), religiously unaffiliated
people (38), Buddhists (36), Hindus (36), and Muslims (33). In the youngest
groups, one-third of Hindu (33%) and Buddhist (34%) Americans and 42% of Muslim
Americans are in the 18–29 age category.
Hindu,
Unitarian/Universalist, and Jewish Americans Most Likely to Have
College Degrees
Educational attainment varies considerably across
religious groups. Majorities of Hindu (67%), Unitarian Universalist (59%), and
Jewish (58%) Americans have four-year college degrees or higher. Four in ten or
more Orthodox Christians (48%), white Catholics (42%), and Latter-day Saints
(40%) also have at least a four-year college degree. More than one-third of
Muslims (39%), white mainline Protestants (37%), Buddhists (37%), and the
religiously unaffiliated (36%) have at least a four-year college degree. Three
in ten white evangelical Protestants (29%) and Black Protestants (29%) hold college
degrees, while one in five or less JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (20%), Hispanic
Protestants (17%), and Hispanic Catholics (15%) do.
Race/Ethnicity and
Religious Affiliation
A large majority (71%) of white Americans identify as Christian. Half (50%) are
Protestant, including 23% who identify as evangelical and 27% who are mainline
Protestant. Another 19% are Catholic, 2% are Latter-day Saint, and less than 1%
each are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES or Orthodox Christians. Most non-Christian white
Americans are religiously unaffiliated (23%), with 2% who are Jewish and less
than 1% who are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or another religion. Compared to 2013,
white Americans are slightly less Christian overall (74% in 2013) and more
likely to be unaffiliated (22% in 2013).
Black Americans are also
mostly Christian (72%). More than six in ten (63%) are Protestant, including
35% who identify as evangelical and 28% who identify as non-evangelical
Protestants. Seven percent of Black Americans are Catholic, while 2% are Muslim
and 2% are Buddhist, 2% are another religion, and 1% are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES;
less than 1% identify as Latter-day Saint, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, or
Hindu. More than one in five (21%) Black Americans are religiously
unaffiliated. More Black Americans identified as Christian in 2013 (79%) and
fewer said they were religiously unaffiliated (16% in 2013).
Six in ten Native
Americans (60%) identify as Christian, mostly comprised of 47% who are
Protestant (28% evangelical, 19% non-evangelical). An additional 11% are Catholic,
1% are Latter-day Saint, and 1% are JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES. Two percent identify
with another religion, 1% each are Jewish and Muslim, and less than 1% are
Hindu and Buddhist. Nearly three in ten Native Americans (28%) are religiously
unaffiliated. There have been no substantial shifts in religious affiliation
among Native Americans since 2013.
Other Christians make up
7% of the U.S. population as of 2020, comprised of multiracial Christians (2%),
AAPI Christians (1%), Native American Christians (1%), Black Catholics (1%),
Christians who did not provide a race or ethnicity (1%), JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (0.5%), and Orthodox Christians (0.5%).
