Would Christianity still dominate the United States if it were reimagined as a small town of 100 people?
That’s the premise of a new report from Pew Research Center, which offered fresh analysis of America’s religious landscape through the lens of Pew’s sweeping 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS).
The study, conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, surveyed nearly 37,000 U.S. adults and paints a portrait of a community where belief — or the lack thereof — shapes neighborhoods, generations and daily life.
Noting that the U.S. has a population of roughly 262 million adults, with Christianity claiming about 162 million adherents and 76 million people reporting no religious affiliation, Pew researchers acknowledge that grasping the full scope of faith in America can feel overwhelming.
“These are big numbers that can make it difficult to fully understand the American religious landscape,” the report states. “But what if we imagined the U.S. as a small town of 100 people instead of a country with hundreds of millions of people?”
If the U.S. were a “small town” of 100 people, religious “nones” would outnumber Protestants among young people, according to Pew.
In this scaled-down version of America, Christians would still hold a clear majority, numbering 62 out of 100. The breakdown reveals familiar American Christian and Christian-identified traditions: 23 Evangelical Protestants, 19 Catholics, 11 mainline Protestants, and five individuals tied to historically Black Protestant denominations.
Pew’s report also included other groups that researchers identified as Christians, including two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and two more from other groups, including Jehovah’s Witnesses and smaller sects.
The town’s “nones” — those religiously unaffiliated who identify as atheists, agnostics or simply “nothing in particular” — form a substantial bloc of 29 residents, nearly a third of all total residents, signaling a growing secular undercurrent.
Non-Christian faiths round out the picture with seven people: two Jewish, one Muslim, one Buddhist, one Hindu and two representing a mosaic of other beliefs, from Baha’is and Sikhs to Wiccans.
Add demographics to the hypothetical town, and the results appear to indicate an “aging out” of Christianity: more Christians (35) would be 50 and older than under 50, with just 18 in their 30s and 40s, and only nine between 18 and 29.
“The age balance would be reversed for religious’ nones,’ with 20 under age 50 and fewer than 10 ages 50 and older,” the report observes, underscoring how younger generations are driving the rise of the unaffiliated.
Race and gender also provide further insight into the town’s makeup, with gender tilting slightly toward Christian women (34) compared to Christian men (28) among the 100 adults. Other groups show near parity. For instance, 15 “nones” would be men and 14 would be women.
Meanwhile, one-quarter (25) of all residents would be White Protestants, while 19 would be White and religiously unaffiliated. Seven would be Black Protestants (including Evangelical or mainline traditions), and another seven would be Hispanic Catholics.
Pew’s filter findings generally aligned with an earlier RLS report in February, which found that America’s youngest adults are significantly more likely to be unaffiliated with religion than their older counterparts, suggesting potential future declines in the “American religious landscape.”
