The Shifting of U.S. Religion

Over a period of seven years there's been a slight downshift in the number of Americans who attach themselves to a Christian religion and an upswing in the number of those who don't profess to any religion at all.

A recently released report by The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut surveyed 54,461 adults across America, which highlighted religious trends in the U.S. compared to previously released statistics.

Here's a list of its most significant findings:

• 15 percent claim no religion, up from 14.2 percent in 2001
• Catholics are still the largest religious group in the U.S. at 25 percent of the population
• 76 percent of the U.S. population are Christians, down from 77 percent in 2001 and 86 percent in 1990
• 3.5 percent of Christians now prefer to be referred to as evangelical or born-again rather than associated with a particular denomination, compared to 0.1 percent in 1990
• Evangelical/born-again Christians make up 34 percent of the U.S. population and 45 percent of the total number of Christians
• The least religious area of the U.S. is Northern New England at 34 percent
• The number of Catholics grew in California, Florida, and Texas due to an increase in the number of Latinos
• 12 percent believe in a higher power but not the God of traditional monotheistic religions
• The study noted a slight increase in the number of people who profess adherence to nontraditional organizations such as Scientology, Wicca, and Santeria
• The Muslim population showed a slight increase
• Interest in Buddhism and other Eastern-oriented religions slowed slightly
• Mormon population stayed about the same at 1.4 percent
• The number of Jewish followers dropped from 1.8 percent to 1.2 percent

Non-denominational Christian numbers are growing partly due to the influences of megachurches considered "seeker sensitive" who attract a greater number of young followers with their rock style music and less-structured prayer.