Christians have enjoyed a majority status in the United States for a long time and we do mean enjoyed it. But times are changing and the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Christian has been on a decline since the 90s. And a new report from Pew predicts that unless something changes, Christians could find themselves a minority within the next few decades.
In the early 90s, about 90 percent of Americans called themselves Christian. By 2020, that number was at 64 percent, while the number of people who call themselves “atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular” has grown from 16 percent in 2007 to 30 percent in 2020. All other religions (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) accounted for about six percent.
If the trends continue, the research predicts that over the next 50 years “nones” would become the majority, rising from the current 30 percent to upwards 52 percent of the U.S. population.
There’s a variety of factors contributing to these trends, and all are subject to change. The tides could turn at any moment. But while the future is hard to predict, Pew has a reputation of getting a lot of guesses right. Looks like the Church has some work ahead of them if they want to see things change.
