Religion in the United States

Polls estimate that just under 80 percent of Americans are Christians of various denominations, a decline from 90 percent as recently as 1990. The other 20 percent comprises other religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and other faiths and those without a religion.

The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. According to a 2004 Gallup poll, about 44% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt-composed largely of Southern and Midwestern states-than in the Northeast and West Coast.

In the Southern states, Baptists are the largest group, followed by Methodists; Roman Catholics are dominant in the Northeast and in large parts of the Midwest due to their being settled by descendants of Catholic immigrants from Europe (such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland) or other parts of North America (mainly Quebec and Puerto Rico). The rest of the country for the most part has a complex mixture of various Christian groups.

Status of Religion in the United States

Religion is a significant part of the culture of the United States. The United States is one of the most religious first-world nations in the world. Gallup International indicates that 41 percent (2001[1]) of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15 percent of French citizens, 7 percent of UK citizens, and 25 percent of Israeli citizens. The largest participant religion in the United States is Roman Catholicism.