Christianity's Decline in U.S. Shows Signs of Leveling Off, Major Study Finds

A comprehensive study from the Pew Research Center suggests that Christianity's long decline in America may be slowing or even halting. The 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed nearly 37,000 adults, found that 62% of Americans identify as Christian — a figure that has remained relatively stable since 2020.

This represents a significant shift from the dramatic declines seen between 2007 and 2014, when the Christian share of the population dropped from 78% to 71%.

Young Adults Drive Stabilization

Surprisingly, the youngest adults (ages 18-24) are no less religious than the second-youngest cohort in several key measures. Americans born between 2000-2006 are just as likely as those born in the 1990s to identify as Christians, say religion is important, and attend services monthly.

This breaks a pattern where each successive generation had been markedly less religious than the previous one.

Spiritual Beliefs Remain Strong

Despite lower church attendance and religious identification among younger Americans, spiritual beliefs remain widespread across all age groups:

• 86% believe people have a soul or spirit beyond their physical body
• 83% believe in God or a universal spirit
• 79% believe in something spiritual beyond the natural world
• 70% believe in an afterlife

The age gaps on spiritual questions are much smaller than on traditional religious measures like prayer frequency and church attendance.

Religious "Nones" Growth Also Slows

The rise of religiously unaffiliated Americans — often called "nones" — has also plateaued. 29% of adults now identify as having no religion, up from 16% in 2007, but this figure has remained steady since around 2020.

Challenges Remain for Future

While the immediate trends show stabilization, researchers note significant long-term challenges. Older, highly religious generations are being replaced by younger, less religious cohorts. For lasting stability, young adults would need to become more religious as they age — something not observed in previous generations.

The study also found that a religious upbringing is less "sticky" among today's young adults than previous generations, with fewer maintaining high levels of religiosity into adulthood.

Political and Regional Variations

The religious changes have been much more pronounced among political liberals than conservatives. Among self-described liberals, Christianity identification dropped 25 percentage points since 2007, while conservatives saw much smaller changes.