Religion in the USA

May 12, 2012 · updated February 15, 2022

Exterior from South
Exterior view of the Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church, Hillsboro, Oregon, built 1878 in the Carpenter Gothic style. The church was founded in 1873 by twelve pioneers from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Holly Hayes
Fast Facts on USA
Area 3,796,742 sq mi
Population 334,998,398 2021
Religions (%) Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Mormon 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don't know/refused 0.6%
Christianity 252,870,000 2020
Unaffiliated 62,310,000 2020
Judaism 5,700,000 2020
Buddhism 4,170,000 2020
Islam 3,850,000 2020
Other Religions 2,770,000 2020
Hinduism 2,510,000 2020
Indigenous/Folk Religions 850,000 2020

American religion is as diverse as its population.

Most Americans consider themselves Christians. Almost 50% identify with Protestant Christianity, while approximately 20% identify with Roman Catholicism. However, only about 36% of Americans attend church regularly.

Many Christian sects with a worldwide presence have their origins in the USA, including Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Eastern religions continue to grow in the United States, including Buddhism and Hinduism. Often these faiths are combined with American secularism or syncretism so that the product is a notably "American form" of them.

Judaism and Islam are firmly rooted in America as well, though their numbers are smaller.