As much as polls can tell us anything, this one from PRRI* is interesting.
As of late 2023, the religiously unaffiliated made up more than a quarter of the U.S. adult population, while white evangelicals were only 14% and white Catholics were 12%. Essentially, the combined number of those two religious groups equaled the unaffiliated.
The share of white Catholics and mainline Protestants has declined most rapidly, when comparing 2013 and 2023, while the unaffiliated is the one group that has grown rapidly.
In a 2020 report, PRRI cited a Pew survey that tracked part of this trend:
During that earlier time frame, the unaffiliated and white evangelical shares essentially switched places. Since then, as the 2023 PRRI report shows, white evangelical numbers have stabilized, while the unaffiliated have continued to increase.
Maybe some day the unaffiliated will get some political representation in this country.
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*PRRI is the Public Religion Research Institute, though their website doesn't appear to say that anywhere. I guess they're like the AARP or other organizations who think they can get by using only initials.
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