Religion in America - Religious Affiliation, Traditional…, … To Nontraditional…, … To Pagan?, Christian Houses Of Worship

The United States of America: A religiously diverse nation. Or is it? The First Amendment to the Constitution, in part, states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…." We have freedom to choose religions (or no religion) and, in 2001, 76% of us chose some branch of Christianity. Not surprising, since Christianity has the most adherents throughout the world. The first panel presents an overview of religious affiliation in the United States and in the world. The next panel shows the 10 largest religions in the United States based on adult adherents.

The next two panels explain growth (or decline) in religious membership. First, we look at the phenomenon of switching religions. About 1 in 6 Americans say that they've switched religious affiliation (or have become non-religious). Many are leaving the traditional religions in favor of the newer religions (or those that are newer to America). Second, we look at the top 20 religions based on growth rate. Many New Age, Evangelical Christian, and Eastern religions are growing faster than are traditional religions. The Wiccan religion grew an astounding 1,575% from 1990 to 2001!

Where do we worship? The next panel discusses Christian houses of worship and tracks the change in the number of churches compared to the change in the number of adherents. The following panel discusses the effects this has had on the size of these congregations. Next, we look at some of the non-Christian houses of worship and where they are concentrated in the United States. Some states do not have any houses of worship for a particular religion.

The Internet has touched nearly every aspect of our lives, and our spiritual life is no exception. The next panel discusses the top 10 activities of the 28 million Americans in 2001 who used the Internet to supplement their spiritual life. More of us are attending church online. More churches are Web-casting their services and the faithful are flocking (or surfing) to them. Cyber-churches don't have physical buildings, but they do offer sermons, inspirational music, multimedia Bibles, and "virtual" sanctuaries. The cyber-church is not just for Christians, either. Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews also have sites dedicated to helping adherents in their spiritual quest.