Americans’ faith in God may be eroding
The vast majority of Americans still believe in God, but there are strong signs that many are less certain about this belief than in years past.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The vast majority of Americans still believe in God, but there are strong signs that many are less certain about this belief than in years past.
The religious face of America is largely a Christian one, with roughly seven-in-ten Americans belonging to that faith. But some of the nation’s biggest metropolitan areas have a very different look.
More than half of America’s busiest airports have dedicated chapels, and many of these facilities offer a variety of worship services for different faith traditions.
Many large religious groups have taken positions in opposition to the death penalty even though that stance is sometimes at odds with the opinions of their adherents.
If current demographic trends hold, by 2050, Muslims are projected to be more numerous in the U.S. than people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion.
Some legal scholars and others are trying to determine how a ruling granting same-sex couples a constitutional right to wed might affect religious institutions.
A majority of LGB adults are religiously affiliated, but they are much less likely to be Christian than the general public and are more drawn to smaller, non-Christian denominations.
The Jewish population in Europe has dropped significantly over the last several decades – most dramatically in Eastern Europe and the countries that make up the former Soviet Union.
The number of Christians in Europe is forecast to drop by about 100 million by 2050, while the share of Muslims and smaller religious minorities will increase.
Despite their increasingly upbeat economic mood, Europeans show growing support for nontraditional political parties critical of the EU.
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