Religious U.S. Demographics

Denominational Heritage

Introduction
This table lists some major demographic groupings in the United States. Race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and other factors are factors in personal and group identity. This table is unusual in that it presents a merged list of these factors. This more accurately reflects actual American society, in which most people belong to more than one group. All individuals can be classified into multiple groupings below. This list is not comprehensive. Please write to suggest additional groups.

Group	Number	Percent of U.S. population
Total ¹	275,617,000	100.0%
Christian ²	237,581,854	86.2%
English-at-home speakers ⁶	237,529,873	86.2%
White ¹	226,563,000	82 %
Protestant ⁹	157,101,690	57 %
Female ¹	140,860,000	51.1%
Male ¹	134,756,000	48.9%
"born-again" or "evangelical" ⁹	121,271,480	44 %
Republican ⁸	90,950,000	33 %
Democrat ⁸	85,440,000	31 %
Catholic ²	72,211,654	26 %
Baptist ⁹	49,611,060	18 %
Non-English speakers ⁶	38,087,127	13.8%
Black ¹	35,392,000	12.8%
Hispanic ¹	32,640,000	11.8%
Methodist ²	22,049,360	8.0%
Spanish speakers ⁶	20,744,986	7.5%
Nonreligious ²	20,671,275	7.5%
Southern Baptist ³	15,800,000	5.7%
Lutheran ²	14,332,084	5.2%
Asian/Pacific Islander ¹	11,221,000	4.1%
United Methodist Church ¹¹	8,495,000	3.08%
Presbyterian ²	7,717,276	2.8%
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ³	5,149,668	2 %
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) ³	5,113,000	2 %
Judaism ²	4,960,000	1.8%
gay/lesbian⁵	4,960,000	1.8%
Pentecostal ²	4,961,106	1.8%
Episcopalian ²	4,685,489	1.7%
Muslim ³	4,000,000	1.5%
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ³	3,610,753	1.3%
Eastern Orthodox ⁹	2,756,170	1 %
Assemblies of God ¹¹	2,575,000	0.93%
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod ³	2,582,440	0.9%
Episcopal Church ³	2,500,000	0.9%
Native American ¹	2,441,000	0.9%
Buddhist ¹³	2,400,000	0.87%
Jehovah's Witnesses ²	2,204,936	0.8%
French speakers ⁶	2,308,795	0.8%
Non-denominational ¹¹	2,000,000	0.73%
prison population	2,000,000	0.7%
agnostic ²	1,929,319	0.7%
German speakers ⁶	1,851,418	0.7%
Megachurch attendance ¹⁴	1,800,000	0.64%
Chinese speakers ⁶	1,578,099	0.6%
Italian speakers ⁶	1,565,165	0.6%
United Church of Christ ¹¹	1,565,165	0.57%
Mennonite Church USA ¹¹	1,525,000	0.55%
American Baptist Church in the U.S.A. ¹¹	1,503,000	0.55%
Churches of Christ (non-instrumental) ¹¹	1,300,000	0.47%
Tagolog speakers ⁶	1,008,542	0.4%
Independent Christian Church, Churches of Christ (instrumental) ¹¹	1,072,000	0.39%
Hindu ¹³	1,000,000	0.36%
atheists ¹⁰	947,000	0.3%
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ¹¹	910,000	0.33%
Polish speakers ⁶	865,298	0.3%
Seventh-day Adventists ¹¹	809,000	0.29%
Neo-pagan (incl. Wiccans) ¹²	768,400	0.28%
Korean speakers ⁶	749,278	0.3%
Church of the Nazarene ¹¹	608,000	0.11%
Vietnamese speakers ⁶	606,463	0.2%
Unitarian Universalist ²	500,000	0.2%
Portuguese speakers ⁶	515,017	0.2%
Japanese speakers ⁶	511,485	0.2%
Reformed Church in America (RCA) ¹¹	304,000	0.11%
Libertarian party members ⁷	200,000	0.07%
Baha'i ¹¹	142,000	0.05%
Native American Religionist ²	47,000	0.02%

Sources

1. U.S. 1990 Census. Projections to year 2000. URL: http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt

2. National Survey of Religious Identification (NSRI; Kosmin, et al): Survey of 113,000 adults. Percentages shown are those indicated by the 1990 survey. Numbers are based on those percentages of the 2000 projected total (adult and children) population. Survey respondents who answered the question about their religious affiliation include both affiliated and non-affiliated members (individuals not affiliated with a congregation or denomination, whose name is not on any denominational church records, but who identify at least nominally with a particular religious/denominational preference. People who stated they were Episcopalians, for example, made up 1.7% of the population of adults surveyed in 1990. Applying the same proportion to the total year 2000 U.S. projected population, one obtains 4,685,489. But the religious body itself reports 2,500,000 members in the year 2000. This represents the difference in the number of self-identified Episcopalians versus affiliated (organizationally reported) members of the Episcopal Church.

3. Organizational reporting; National Survey of Religious Identification (NSRI; Kosmin, et al); Gallup data; Deseret News 2001-2002 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (2000).

4. Harris Election Poll, year 2000.

5. Schmidt, Thomas E. Straight & Narrow: Compassion & Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press (1995), pg. 102-103. [Original sources: P. Painton, "The Shrinking Ten Percent, " Time, April 26, 1993, pp. 27-29; P. Rogers, "How Many Gays Are There? " Newsweek, February 15, 1993, pg. 46; A.C. Kinsey, W.B. Pomeroy & C.E. Martin, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1948); J. H. Court & J. G. Muir, eds., Kinsey, Sex and Fraud: The Indoctrination of a People (Lafayette, La.: Huntington House, 1990); T. W. Smith, "Adult Sexual Behavior in 1989: Number of Partners, Frequency of Intercourse and Risk of AIDS, " Planning Perspectives 23 (May/June 1991): 102-7. See p. 104, table 2. Smith is director of the General Social Survey Project at the NORC (University of Chicago).]

6. U.S. Census: Languages Spoken at Home by Persons 5 Years and Over, by State (based on 1990 Census); Numerical figures from 1990 Census were converted to a proportion of total 1990 population, then extrapolated to 2000 population. URL: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/language/table4.txt

7. Libertarian Party Press Release - 03 April 2000; URL: http://www.multiracial.com/news/pr20000403.html

8. 1995 Newsweek poll; URL: http://www.well.com/~jay/Dig101.html In the year 2000 election, exit polls indicated that 39% of voters identified themselves as Democrats, 35% identified themselves as Republicans, and 27% identified themselves as Independents.

9. August 2000 Gallup Poll; Question about being "born-again" or "evangelical" based on self-identification, and includes all who identify themselves as such, including Protestants, Catholics, Latter-day Saints, Orthodox, etc. URL: http://www.gallup.com/poll/indicators/indreligion3.asp

10. 1996 Britannica Book of the Year.

11. Hartford Institute study done in 2000, based on congregational surveys: "Faith Communities in the U.S. Today." Released 13 March 2001. Total numbers are institutionally-reported figures.

12. The Wiccan/Pagan Poll Final Results, conducted by the Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) beginning in late July, 1999. [Online source: http://www.cog.org/cogpoll_final.html]

13. 2001 edition of David Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia.

14. Vaughn, John N. Church Growth Today. www.megachurches.net.

The Electorate: Voters in the Year 2000 Election

Data based on exit polls given to 13,130 voters on November 5, 2000. Data presented on CNN's website at http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/epolls/US/P000.html.

Vote by Race	% of Voters
White	81 %
Black	10 %
Hispanic	7 %
Asian	2 %
Other	1 %

Vote by Religion	% of Voters
Protestant	54 %
Catholic	26 %
Jewish	4 %
Other	6 %
None	9 %

Gay or Lesbian?	% of Voters
Yes	4 %
No	96 %

Attend Religious Service	% of Voters
More Than Weekly	14 %
Weekly	28 %
Monthly	14 %
Seldom	28 %
Never	14 %

Identity

Sociologists recognize that all individuals have a personal identity which is based on multiple factors. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, native language, lifestyle, family status, political affiliation, culture, socioeconomic status, and occupation are some of the major factors which contribute to personal and group identity.

Each individual is a part of many groups, some of which they identify with more strongly than others. Even individuals who may be classified similarly in basic demographic tables may differ substantially and have radically different loyalties, opinions, values, etc.

For example, Phongtep and Songha are both second-generation Laotian women living in Fresno, California. Both are education majors at the local community college. Both are single, heterosexual, and come from similar family backgrounds.

Based simply on these demographic labels, people who don't know these Phongtep and Songha might assume that they are very similar, that they are not a diverse pair of people.

Actually, Phongtep and Songha feel they have very little in common.

Songha's father is a leader in the local Laotian community, and Sonhga has been actively involved in registering other Laotian people to vote. She writes a monthly column for the local Laotian newsletter. She is engaged to a Hispanic computer programmer that she met at a rock climbing club. She works part-time at a Thai restaurant owned by her uncle. She is thinking about switching her major to English and going into journalism. She attends church sporadically at a Laotian Catholic parish, mainly because she has many Catholic friends there.

Phongtep considers herself a devout Catholic, and for a time even considered becoming a nun. She is one of the youth leaders her Catholic parish. She does volunteer work at an center for deaf children and loves to listen to reggae, jazz, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She has taken karate classes since she was seven years old and teaches part-time at a dojo. She is highly motivated in her college courses and looks forward to being a full-time P.E. teacher in a high school.

Many other things could be said about Phongtep and Songha which are less frequently associated with demographic tables. Phongtep's favorite author is Zenna Henderson. Songha doesn't enjoy novels but is an avid newspaper reader. Phongtep's little brother is deaf. Songha's mother died of cancer.

People who don't know them might classify them simply as "Laotians" or "college students" or "straights" or "Catholics." Phongtep and Songha belong to some of the same demographic groups, and have some of the same acquaintances, but they feel they have little in common.

Among the many sources of Songha's ideas, hopes, and values, her status as a Laotian-American and her role as a writer may be prominent right now. Phongtep thinks of herself as a Catholic, and also as an athlete and, someday, a teacher.

Both women plan to marry and have children. Both plan to work after college and earn more money than they do at their current part-time jobs. Such changes may change their identities considerably, as their careers or families take on new prominence in their lives, or as the challenges of adulthood heighten their appreciation for their religious or ethnic background. They will be influenced by the jobs they do, their families, new friends and acquaintances, classes they take, and by changes which take place in the general society around them, and in their immediate community.

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