2. Buddhism among Asian Americans
About one-in-ten Asian American adults (11%) say their religion is Buddhism, a slight decline from 14% in 2012. A much larger share (21%) currently say that, aside from religion, they feel close to...
View Article1. Christianity among Asian Americans
Despite recent declines, Christianity is still the most common religion among Asian Americans. About a third of Asian American adults (34%) say their present religion is Christianity, down from 42%...
View ArticleAcknowledgments
Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This survey and related research on religion and spirituality in the United States was funded by The Pew Charitable...
View ArticleMethodology
The American Trends Panel survey methodology Overview The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. Panelists...
View Article5. Who are ‘spiritual but not religious’ Americans?
This chapter focuses on three groups of U.S. adults, based on their answers to the following four questions: Do you think of yourself as spiritual? Do you think of yourself as religious? How important...
View Article4. Spiritual experiences
Large majorities of Americans say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe (71%) or a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being (66%) several times a year or more often. Other types of...
View Article3. Spiritual practices
Asking about people’s activities, habits and rituals is one way to explore how abstract concepts such as spirituality and religion show up in everyday life. In this survey, we asked respondents to tell...
View Article2. Spiritual beliefs
Americans hold a wide range of beliefs about spirits and related matters. Some views that may be considered spiritual – such as belief in God or another “higher power” – are very common across all...
View Article1. Measuring spirituality
How does one go about counting the number of spiritual people in the United States? And how do Americans define spirituality? In preparation for this survey, we reviewed the academic literature on...
View ArticleSpirituality Among Americans
Overall, 70% of U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way, including 22% who are spiritual but not religious. An overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (83%) say they believe that people...
View ArticleMethodology
The American Trends Panel survey methodology (Wave 132) Overview The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults....
View Article8. How do ‘nones’ think about morality?
When making decisions between right and wrong, most “nones” say they rely extensively on the desire to avoid hurting people, and on the use of logic and reason. Overall, 83% of “nones” say the desire...
View Article7. How do ‘nones’ view science?
Compared with U.S. adults who identify with a religion, “nones” have a more positive view of science. At the same time, most “nones” say that there are some things science cannot explain and that...
View Article6. Are ‘nones’ hostile toward religion?
Some are. But many are not. Around a fifth of “nones” express consistently negative views of religion. They say it does more harm than good in society, encourages superstition and causes division....
View Article5. Are ‘nones’ spiritual instead of religious?
In our survey, 49% of “nones” say they think of themselves as spiritual or that spirituality is very important in their lives. And 54% say they sometimes do things (like centering themselves, spending...
View Article4. Are all ‘nones’ nonbelievers?
Not all ‘nones’ are nonbelievers. Far from it. While the “nones” include many nonbelievers, 70% of “nones” say they believe in God or another higher power, and 63% say they believe in spiritual forces...
View Article3. Are ‘nones’ less involved in civic life than people who identify with a...
Survey data shows that religious “nones” are, on average, less civically and politically engaged than people who identify with a religion. But the differences are often modest and tend to be...
View Article2. Why are ‘nones’ nonreligious?
The survey asked “nones” why they are nonreligious, offering a list of six possible reasons and asking respondents to say whether each is an extremely, very, somewhat, not too, or not at all important...
View Article1. Who are the ‘nones’? How are they defined?
Religious “nones” are people who describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religious affiliation in our surveys. To measure religious affiliation in the...
View ArticleReligious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe
28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion.
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