U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Released
Filed Under Religion | Posted on February 26, 2008
The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life has released its U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.
According to the survey, 0.7% of the U.S. population claims affiliation with a Buddhist tradition. Buddhists are tied with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and slightly outnumber Orthodox, Muslim, and Hindu adherents. Evangelical Protestants (26.3%), Catholics (23.9%), Mainline Protestants (18.1%), and Unafilliated (16.1%) make up the overwhelming majority of religious affiliations in the U.S.
I would have liked to have seen a longitudinal study comparing changes in affiliation over time. I often hear that “Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in America.” The Pew Forum study does not provide the information necessary to evaluate that claim. The study’s demographic section does report that 63% of American Buddhists are White, Hispanic, or Black, compared to 32% Asian. I suspect that distribution may have been quite different 20 or 30 years ago. It would be nice to have that comparison.
The study is a fairly straightforward demographic snapshot of religion in America. Statistics junkies or those interested in the American religious landscape will find it an interesting diversion.
One Response to “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Released”
Leave a Reply
RSS
[…] report from the Pew Center, this one more disturbing than than that described in my last post. For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or […]