On Americans’ Diverse Religious Views

My latest piece looks at how Americans view faith and religion in their personal lives and public spaces at a time when many Americans are observing holy days.

“As Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists celebrate the ageless rituals of Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Holi, and Vesak this sacred season, new research shows a cleaving between how Americans regard religion in their private lives versus the public sphere. Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study of some 36,000 U.S. adults shows 62% of Americans identify as Christian; 7% identify with other religions, including Jewish (2%), Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu (about 1% each); 29% are unaffiliated with a religion. While religious-secular diversity can be a fraught subject in America, individual faith remains a vital force around the country — and what faith means to individuals can vary greatly.

“The American Communities Project’s analysis of MRI-Simmons consumer research collected from households between September 2021 and August 2023, and segmented into our 15 community types last fall, shows that Americans’ personal religious beliefs and daily practices are central to their lives. This is true no matter where they call home.

“However, Americans are much less connected to organized religion, as seen in the relatively low numbers of service attendance. At the national level, a little more than a third of residents said they somewhat or completely agree that they attend religious services regularly, and even in the most religious kinds of communities, there was no majority agreement.”

Visit the full story here.