Nearly a third (29%) of U.S. adults do not affiliate with a religious tradition, a 13-point increase since 2007, according to a Pew Research Center report published Dec. 14.
Of this total, 4% identify as atheist, 5% as agnostic and 20% as nothing in particular.
Christian affiliation currently stands at 63%, a 15-point decline from 2007.
Protestant affiliation dropped 12 points to 40% over this 14-year period, while Catholic affiliation dropped three points to 21%.
Mormon and Orthodox Christian affiliation remained unchanged at 2% and 1%, respectively.
Affiliation with other faith traditions has remained stable, rising one-point to 6% from 2007 to 2021.
“Within Protestantism, evangelicals continue to outnumber those who are not evangelical. Currently, 60% of Protestants say, ‘yes’ when asked whether they think of themselves as a ‘born-again or evangelical Christian,’ while 40% say ‘no’ or decline to answer the question,” the report said. “This pattern exists among both white and Black Protestants.”
Two-thirds (66%) of Black Protestants identify as born-again or evangelical, compared to 58% of white Protestants.
Overall, 24% of all U.S. adults identify as born-again or evangelical Protestant in 2021, down from 30% in 2007, while other Protestants also saw a six-point decline to 16% over this period.
The full report is available here. The methodology, noting a plus-or-minus 2.1% margin of error, is available here.