Christianity in the U. Published by Statista Research Department , Jun 28, The most popular form of Christianity is Protestantism. Although the share of those who identify as Protestant was once 69 percent in , around 37 percent of Americans expressed the faith as their religious preference in However, Catholics boast the largest number of Christian adherents among the denominations.
This is because of the diversity of Protestant faiths present within the United States. In the land of opportunity and immigration, the economic result of settlers is often mixed. The income levels of religious groups in the United States by faith tradition suggest that Orthodox Christians have fared best. Mostly belonging to families of immigrants from Greece, Russia, and Eastern Europe to establish a life in America, 29 percent of Orthodox Christians earned more than , U.
The faith tradition also boosted the lowest percentage of its adherents earning less than 30, U. A founding principle in the United States is the separation of church and state.
Despite this principle, religion is often used as a point of political division and party affiliation. As such, knowing the faith of registered voters helps one to know the approximate make up of a political party's strength.
However, many Americans still believe in the founding principles and, despite their faith, do not believe that their faith should be a source for law. This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text. Share of Americans who identify as Protestant. Church infrastructure Largest Christian denomination in the U. Largest Christian denomination in the U. Teaching Tools. Research Hub. Press Room. Congregational Resource Center. Syntax Repository Download syntax files and recreate popular religious classification schemes in survey data.
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Data Archive The archive is a collection of surveys, polls, and other data submitted by the foremost scholars and research centers in the world. Review and analyze data online, or download free of charge. Data Archive. Compare Nations. For several years now, the Southern Baptist Convention, a conservative evangelical denomination, also showed a decrease.
The Roman Catholic Church also reported a decrease of less than 1 percent. The growing denominations in were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Assembles of God and several other Pentecostal groups; each reported a 2 percent growth. Sociologists have also found that larger evangelical Protestant churches appear to be growing, while smaller churches posted smaller growth.
Based on data from the Faith Communities Today survey, evangelical churches with more than 1, people posted the largest gains over the past five years: 83 percent. Go to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Q: Are U. A: Sadly, no. But there are signs that a major change is underway. See our Huffington Post article on multiracial churches. A late 's study by sociologist Michael Emerson showed that "multiracial churches" where 20 percent of members were of different racial groups from that congregation's majority race accounted for between percent of U.
Our study indicated that the percent of multiracial congregations are increasing in all faith groupings. In Emerson's study, 5 percent of Protestant churches and 15 percent of Roman Catholic churches were multiracial, while in , Additionally, non-Christian congregations have considerable racial diversity. The survey found that 35 percent of congregations in faith traditions such as Bahai, Muslim, Sikh, and others were multiracial. The largest churches in the country also seem to have it easier.
Large Catholic churches are significantly multiracial. In his study, 35 percent of megachurches claimed to have 20 percent or more minorities. Q: How many seminaries are there in the United States? In the U. The vast majority of those schools are accredited. Others are working toward accreditation. Of those schools, were Protestant, 53 were non-denominational or inter-denominational, 54 were Roman Catholic, and three were Orthodox Christian. Enrollment in all member schools was 81, in Q: How many clergymen and women are there in the United States?
But that figure included retired clergy, chaplains in hospitals, prisons and the military, denominational executives, and ordained faculty at divinity schools and seminaries. The , figure did not include independent churches, not tied to a denomination. In addition, the figures provided by the denominations to the Yearbook may not be that accurate, Carroll said.
Nevertheless, at present it is the best figure to use. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Q: How much do pastors make? But there is a wide disparity in compensation between Protestant pastors serving small congregations and those serving medium and large congregations. Considering that the vast majority of churches in the United States are small, the overall compensation package for Protestant pastors is low when compared with teachers and social workers.
Roman Catholic priests earned less than Protestant pastors, in part because they have no family to support. Jewish rabbis earn more than Roman Catholic and Protestant pastors combined. A: In the past few decades, men and women have been entering the ministry at older ages. Most had another career before going to seminary, and by the time they settled into the role of minister they tended to be middle-aged. In a recent study, the median age of senior or solo Protestant pastors was The median age of senior or solo black pastors was Roman Catholic priests are the oldest; their median age was Associate pastors and those serving in non-church settings tended to be slightly younger.
In a report by the U. Bureau of Labor Statistics the median age of full-time, graduate-educated minister was Q: Are clergymen and women healthy? A: Clergy tend to say they are in good shape. However, a follow up question found that 78 percent of clergy are either overweight 48 percent or obese 30 percent. Though these figures are comparable to the U. Still, the average mainline pastor spent Q: Are more women enrolling in seminary? A: Women make up about a third of all seminary students, according to data from the Association of Theological Schools.
Hartford Seminary Sociologist Adair Lummis suggests there are several reasons the increasing numbers of women. Social attitudes have changed and women are increasingly accepted in all the professions. In addition, several mainline denominations changed their rules to allow women to be ordained.
Still, seminary remains by and large a male profession. Twice as many men as women completed the Masters in Divinity degree, the most popular of the programs, in , according to ATS figures. Explore the Annual Data Tables. Q: Are more women serving in churches today?
A: Yes, but just how many is hard to say. Others denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, which officially does not permit women to serve as senior pastors, do not, even though there are small numbers of women pastors in the SBC. But at that time sociologist Jackson Carroll said women make up a disproportionately large percentage of associate pastors, and may face unequal access to higher profile positions. See our quick question - What percentage of pastors are female? From chart in Olson et.
Women with a Mission. U of Alabama Press Q: Why are women dropping out of seminary, or ministry? Eerdmans, Also see Are more or less women entering seminaries today? Q: Is there a salary gap between men and women clergy? A: The salary gap that once existed between men and women clergy is narrowing. Still, women face unequal access to senior pastor positions, which pay more. Sociologist Jackson Carroll found that among mainline clergy in their second decade of ministry, 70 percent of men were serving medium or large churches, compared to 37 percent of women.
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