The United States has experienced one of the steepest drops in religiosity recorded anywhere in the world, according to new Gallup findings. The report shows a 17-point decline in the share of U.S. adults who say religion is an integral part of their daily life, falling from 66% in 2015 to 49% today.
Gallup writes that the “17-point drop in the percentage of U.S. adults who say religion is an important part of their daily life — from 66% in 2015 to 49% today — ranks among the largest Gallup has recorded in any country over any 10 years since 2007.”
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The shift places the United States among a small group of nations that have seen double-digit declines in religious importance over the last decade.
Major Declines in Religiosity Since 2007
Gallup reports that declines of this size are uncommon:
- “Only 14 out of more than 160 countries in the World Poll have experienced drops of over 15 percentage points in religious importance over any 10-year period.”
- Larger declines include:
- Greece: –28 points (2013–2023)
- Italy: –23 points (2012–2022)
- Poland: –22 points (2013–2023)
- Declines similar to the U.S. include Chile, Türkiye and Portugal.
Half of Americans now say religion is not an essential part of their daily lives, and Gallup notes Americans “remain as divided on the question today as they were last year.”
U.S. Falls Further Behind Global Levels of Religiosity
The decline has widened the gap between the United States and the rest of the world. Gallup states that the “global median for religiosity has remained stable for nearly two decades, averaging 81% since 2007 and reaching 83% last year.”
Meanwhile, Americans who say religion is important stand at just 49%, well below that global benchmark.
Key Global Comparison
- Global median: 83%
- U.S.: 49%
- Gap: 34 points
At the same time, the United States is moving closer to other wealthy nations. Among the 38 OECD countries, Gallup reports that the median is 36% of adults who say religion is important. Gallup notes that “the gap between the U.S. and the median for these countries is now narrower than at any point in Gallup’s trend.”
America No Longer Fits Global Religious Categories
The long-term decline has placed the U.S. in what Gallup calls a “unique position on the global religious landscape.”
Gallup identifies four general patterns worldwide:
- High religiosity + Christian identity
- High religiosity + another religious identity
- Low religiosity + Christian identity
- Low religiosity + no religious identity
But the U.S. no longer fits any of them cleanly.
Gallup explains that the country now has a “medium-high Christian identity but middling religiosity.”
In identity, the U.S. looks similar to Western and Northern European nations such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Denmark. But in daily practice, religion still plays a larger role for Americans than for people in those countries.
Meanwhile, the importance of religion in the U.S. resembles that of Argentina, Ireland, Poland and Italy — yet significantly fewer Americans identify as Christian compared with those populations.
This marks a sharp departure from 2008, when the U.S. aligned closely with countries where religion was widely practiced and most adults identified as Christian.
A Wider Collapse in Religious Involvement
Gallup concludes that the “steady decline in U.S. religiosity over the past decade has been evident for years.” The data reflect a broader pattern across multiple measures of faith practice:
- Fewer Americans identify with a religion
- Church attendance is falling
- Church membership continues to decline
- Religion holds a less central role in daily life than in past generations
America Now Stands as a Global Outlier
In its bottom-line assessment, Gallup states that “few countries have measured larger declines in religiosity” since 2007.
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The U.S. now sits between worlds:
- Less religious than most of the world
- More devout than most advanced economies
As Gallup summarizes, the United States “increasingly stands as an outlier.”
Prepared by Charisma Media Staff.
