Our Place In the World of Religion

Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists: Adult Lifespan Faith Development

“Our Place in the World of Religion” (2008)

IDENTIFICATION WITH MAJOR RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN THE U.S.(expressed as % of U.S. adult population: ~ 228 Million)

ChristianOther ReligionsUnaffiliated

IDENTIFICATION WITH RELIGIOUSLY “CHRISTIAN”SEGMENT OF U.S. ADULT POPULATION

CHRISTIAN (78.4%)

Protestant 51.3

Evangelical Churches 26.3

Mainline Churches 18.1

Hist. Black Churches 6.9

Catholic 23.9

Mormon 1.7

Jehovah’s Witness 0.7

Orthodox 0.6

Other Christian 0.3

IDENTIFICATION WITH RELIGIOUSLY “OTHER”SEGMENT OF U.S. ADULT POPULATION

OTHER RELIGIONS (4.7%)

Jewish 1.7

Buddhist 0.7

Muslim 0.6

Hindu 0.4

Other World Religions <0.3

Other Faiths* 1.2

* includes UUs at ~ .3)

IDENTIFICATION WITH RELIGIOUSLY “UNAFFILIATED”SEGMENT OF U.S. ADULT POPULATION

UNAFFILIATED (16.9%)

Atheist 1.6

Agnostic 2.4

Secular Unaffiliated 6.3

Religious Unaffiliated 5.8

Don’t Know/Refused Categ. .8

IDENTIFICATION WITH WORLD RELIGIONS

RANKED BY NUMBER OF ADHERENTS

RELIGION/SECT/BELIEF SYSTEM

ADHERENTS (est.)

Jehovah’s Witnesses

6.5 million

Confucianism 5-6 million

New Age 5 million

Wicca 1-3 million

Unitarian Universalism

635,000

Christian Science150,000 – 400,000

RELIGION/SECT/

BELIEF SYSTEMADHERENTS (est.)

Christianity 2 billion

Islam 1.3 billion

Atheism (includes agnostic & nonrelig.)

1.1 billion

Hinduism 900 million

Buddhism 360 million

Judaism 14 million

Mormonism (LDS) 12.2 million

Seventh Day Adventist

10 million

DYNAMICS of IDENTIFICATION WITH CATHOLIC CHURCH

24% Catholic share of U.S. adults, holding steady for thirty years

31/% U.S. adults identifying itself as raised Catholic

11% U.S. adults leaving Catholic Church since childhood

4%U.S. adults joining Catholic Church over same period, partially

offsetting departures

46% Immigrants entering the U.S. identifying themselves as Catholic, accounting for most of the above 4% intake

23% Catholics who identify themselves as immigrants

IDENTIFICATION WITH RELIGIOUSLY “UNAFFILIATED”SEGMENT OF U.S. ADULT POPULATION

UNAFFILIATED (16.9%)

Atheist 1.6

Agnostic 2.4

Secular Unaffiliated 6.3

Religious Unaffiliated 5.8

Don’t Know/Refused Categ. .8

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM AS PERCENTAGE OF U.S. POPULATION

2001 2008 GROWTH

U.S. POPULATION

285 million 303 million 18 million / 6%

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM

218,000 221,000 3,000 / 1.3%

PARTICIPATION LEVELS IN SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (U.S.)

LOW PARTICIPATION FACTOR HIGH

Mainline Protestant

Jewish

Buddhist

Unaffiliated

Importance of Religious Beliefs

Evangelical

Historically Black Churches

Mormon

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Relevance of Religion to Right and Wrong

Attendance at Worship Services

Prayer/Meditation Practice

Church Activities Outside Worship

Membership as a % of Those Who Identify with a Religious

Tradition

LOWPARTICIPATION

FACTORHIGH

Jewish (55%)

Membership as a Percentage of

those who Identify with a Religious

Tradition.

Historically Black Churches (83%)

Buddhist (30%) Mormon (92%)

Unaffiliated (22%)Jehovah’s

Witnesses (76%)

Unitarian Universalist (35%)

Evangelist (74%)

PARTICIPATION LEVELS IN SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (U.S.)

PARTICIPATION LEVELS IN RELIGION (WORLDWIDE)(by developmental classification of societies)

Agrarian Industrial Post-

Industrial

Church Attendance

49% 25% 22%

Religious Values

64% 34% 26%

Prayer Practice

52% 34% 20%

PARTICIPATION TRENDS IN RELIGION OUTSIDE THE U.S.(by % of adult population)

0102030405060708090

100

France BelgiumNetherlands

Germany

ItalyIrelandBritain

1970

1998

PARTICIPATION TRENDS IN RELIGION IN THE U.S.(by % of adult population)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1972 2002

Attend Weeklyor More

Never Attend

FUTURE TREND SHOWN IN CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AGE AND RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION (U.S.)

18-2930 & Over

75

25

87.5

12.50

20

40

60

80

100

affiliated

unaffiliated

LOWPARTICIPATION

FACTORHIGH

18-29 Importance of Religious Beliefs

65+

18-29Attendance at Worship Services

65+

18-29 Prayer Practice 65+

FUTURE TREND SHOWN IN CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AGE AND RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION (U.S.)

AGRARIAN

INDUSTRIAL

POST INDUSTRIAL

< 30 49 22 15

30-59 47 23 21

60 + 47 29 35

FUTURE TRENDS SHOWN IN CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AGE AND RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION (WORLDWIDE)

PARTICIPATION LEVELS IN SELECTED RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (U.S.)

LOW PARTICIPATION FACTOR HIGH

Mainline Protestant

Jewish

Buddhist

Unaffiliated

Importance of Religious Beliefs

Evangelical

Historically Black Churches

Mormon

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Relevance of Religion to Right and Wrong

Attendance at Worship Services

Prayer/Meditation Practice

Church Activities Outside Worship

Membership as a % of Those Who Identify with a Religious

Tradition

Sources

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey (2007-2008),

U.S. population data from U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States (population report 2006; 2008 data based on U.S. Census Bureau projections)

The Big Religion Chart from ReligionFacts (http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm)

Unitarian Universalist data from UUA membership reports and Commission on Appraisal, Engaging Our Theological Diversity, pp. 34-35 (2005).

Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular (Cambridge University Press 2004)

Learn More

Williamsburg Unitarian Universalistshttp://www.wuu.org