Faith In America

Unlike some other Western countries, the United States remains an overwhelmingly religious society. A Gallup Poll released in November 2003 found that six out of 10 Americans said that religion was "very important" in their lives.

What are the religious demographics in the United States?

Here's a look at faith in America, by percentages, according to the City University of New York:

Protestant (White Evangelicals): 30%

Roman Catholics: 25%

Protestant (Liberal): 20%

Protestant (African-American): 8%

Jewish: 2%

According to recent State Department statistics, there are 2 million American Muslims associated with a mosque.

Other: 15%

Click here for a list of the largest religious groups in the United States.

Does the U.S. Census track religion?

Unlike some countries, the United States does not include a question about religion in its census, and has not done so for over 50 years. Religious adherent statistics in the U.S. are obtained from surveys and organizational reporting.

Do Americans say religion is important in their lives?

When the 2004 American National Elections Studies polled people about whether they consider religion to be an important part of their life, or not, 77% said it was "important," 22.5% said it was "not important," and .5% said they "don't know."

To learn more about religion in America:

• Click here to read the latest research from the Religious Research Association.

• The Association of Religion Data Archives

• Adherents.com is a growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations: references to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures and movements.

• Click here for a list of the major religions of the world, ranked by number of adherents.

• The Association of Religion Data Archives provides denominational family tree graphs that provides graphical representations of the evolution of denominations over time and their relations to other denominations.