Wabash
12-25-2007, 04:45 PM
PRINCETON, NJ -- This time of year provides an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions about exactly where America stands today in regard to religion, based on Gallup's extensive archives.
Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion?
About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.
Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.
Has this changed over time?
Yes. The percentage of Americans who identify with a Christian religion is down some over the decades. This is not so much because Americans have shifted to other religions, but because a significantly higher percentage of Americans today say they don't have a religious identity. In the late 1940s, when Gallup began summarizing these data, a very small percentage explicitly told interviewers they did not identify with any religion. But of those who did have a religion, Gallup classified -- in 1948, for example -- 69% as Protestant and 22% as Roman Catholic, or about 91% Christian.
It's one thing to identify with a religion, and another to be actively religious. What percentage of Americans are actually members of a church?
Sixty-two percent of Americans in Gallup's latest poll, conducted in December, say they are members of a "church or synagogue," a question Gallup has been asking since 1937.
And how has that changed over time?
It's down in the recent years of this decade and down a little more compared to the time period prior to the late 1970s. In the 1937 Gallup Poll, for example, 73% of Americans said they were church members. That number stayed in the 70% range in polls conducted in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. By the 1970s, however, the number began to slip below 70% in some polls, although as recently as 1999, 70% said they were church members. Since 2002, self-reported church membership has been between 63% and 65%.
OK, but being carried on a church's roll doesn't necessarily mean one is active in that church, does it?
It does not. That carries us into the realm of self-reported church attendance, which is a complex arena. Scholars over the years have argued about the precise validity of self-reported attendance data. Some argue that respondents either a) deliberately over-report the frequency of their church attendance because it is socially desirable, or b) generalize and guess at the frequency of their church attendance rather than pinning it down specifically.
Having said that, the most recent Gallup assessment shows that when given a choice between five response categories to describe how frequently they go to church -- "once a week," "almost every week," "about once a month," "seldom," and "never" -- only 17% of adult Americans say they never attend church. In other words, more than 8 out of 10 Americans say they attend church or other worship services at least "seldom."
But attending church could mean attending a wedding or a funeral, for example.
Yes. The question simply asks: "How often do you attend church or synagogue?" and doesn't specify for what reason. So some of those who say they seldom attend could be reporting that they go for weddings or funerals rather than to personally worship.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/103459/Questions-Answers-About-Americans-Religion.aspx
Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion?
About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.
Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.
Has this changed over time?
Yes. The percentage of Americans who identify with a Christian religion is down some over the decades. This is not so much because Americans have shifted to other religions, but because a significantly higher percentage of Americans today say they don't have a religious identity. In the late 1940s, when Gallup began summarizing these data, a very small percentage explicitly told interviewers they did not identify with any religion. But of those who did have a religion, Gallup classified -- in 1948, for example -- 69% as Protestant and 22% as Roman Catholic, or about 91% Christian.
It's one thing to identify with a religion, and another to be actively religious. What percentage of Americans are actually members of a church?
Sixty-two percent of Americans in Gallup's latest poll, conducted in December, say they are members of a "church or synagogue," a question Gallup has been asking since 1937.
And how has that changed over time?
It's down in the recent years of this decade and down a little more compared to the time period prior to the late 1970s. In the 1937 Gallup Poll, for example, 73% of Americans said they were church members. That number stayed in the 70% range in polls conducted in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. By the 1970s, however, the number began to slip below 70% in some polls, although as recently as 1999, 70% said they were church members. Since 2002, self-reported church membership has been between 63% and 65%.
OK, but being carried on a church's roll doesn't necessarily mean one is active in that church, does it?
It does not. That carries us into the realm of self-reported church attendance, which is a complex arena. Scholars over the years have argued about the precise validity of self-reported attendance data. Some argue that respondents either a) deliberately over-report the frequency of their church attendance because it is socially desirable, or b) generalize and guess at the frequency of their church attendance rather than pinning it down specifically.
Having said that, the most recent Gallup assessment shows that when given a choice between five response categories to describe how frequently they go to church -- "once a week," "almost every week," "about once a month," "seldom," and "never" -- only 17% of adult Americans say they never attend church. In other words, more than 8 out of 10 Americans say they attend church or other worship services at least "seldom."
But attending church could mean attending a wedding or a funeral, for example.
Yes. The question simply asks: "How often do you attend church or synagogue?" and doesn't specify for what reason. So some of those who say they seldom attend could be reporting that they go for weddings or funerals rather than to personally worship.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/103459/Questions-Answers-About-Americans-Religion.aspx