Demographics

MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS

GLOBAL STATUS OF MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS
(RANKED BY MEMBERSHIP SIZE)

WORLD UNITED STATES
(2000) (1970) (2000) (2025)

Religionists

Christians             1,999,564,000        191,182,000    235,741,000    266,348,500

Muslims           1,888,243,000               800,000        4,131,910        5,290,000

Hindus            811,336,000               100,000        1,031,677        1,500,000

Buddhists               359,982,000              200,000       2,449,570        5,000,000

Ethnoreligionists           228,367,000                 0,000          434,851           500,000

Sikhs                     23,258,000                 1,000          233,820           310,000

Jews                            14,434,000          6,700,000         5,621,339        6,100,000
    Confucianists               6,299,000         ***         ***       ***
    Babi and Baha’i               7,106,000             138,000       753,423        1,150,000
    Jains                       4,218,000                  000              6,959        7,000
    Shinto                  2,762,000              000              56,220             70,000
    Zoroastrians                  2,544,000        000              52,721             84,000
Nonreligionists              918,249,000        10,070,000    25,077,844    40,000,000
    Agnostics        768,159,000              ***          ***       ***
    (Nonreligious)
    Aetheists        150,090,000            200,000      1,149,486        1,600,000
(Anti-religionists)

The term “major world religion” generally applies to groups that are of major historical and cultural significance. Precisely what should be deemed a major world religion is a matter of some disagreement. Baha’ism may be omitted because it is a recent tradition or mis-classified as an Islamic sect. Zoroastrianism and Shinto may be omitted because they are relatively small and geographically limited. Confucianism and Taoism may be omitted because they are defined as ethical systems rather than religions and have few formal adherents with a primary loyalty to them.
Source: World Christian Encyclopedia
Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001
(self-identification, ARIS)

Religion 1990 Est.
Adult Pop. 2001 Est.
ADULT Pop. 2004 Est.
Total Pop. % of U.S. Pop.,
2000 % Change
1990 – 2000 Christianity 151,225,000 159,030,000 224,437,959 76.5% +5% Nonreligious/Secular 13,116,000 27,539,000 38,865,604 13.2% +110% Judaism 3,137,000 2,831,000 3,995,371 1.3% -10% Islam 527,000 1,104,000 1,558,068 0.5% +109% Buddhism 401,000 1,082,000 1,527,019 0.5% +170% Agnostic 1,186,000 991,000 1,398,592 0.5% -16% Atheist 902,000 1,272,986 0.4% Hinduism 227,000 766,000 1,081,051 0.4% +237% Unitarian Universalist 502,000 629,000 887,703 0.3% +25% Wiccan/Pagan/Druid 307,000 433,267 0.1% Spiritualist 116,000 163,710 0.05% Native American Religion 47,000 103,000 145,363 0.05% +119% Baha’i 28,000 84,000 118,549 0.04% +200% New Age 20,000 68,000 95,968 0.03% +240% Sikhism 13,000 57,000 80,444 0.03% +338% Scientology 45,000 55,000 77,621 0.02% +22% Humanist 29,000 49,000 69,153 0.02% +69% Deity (Deist) 6,000 49,000 69,153 0.02% +717% Taoist 23,000 40,000 56,452 0.02% +74% Eckankar 18,000 26,000 36,694 0.01% +44%

Richmond-Petersburg, VA MSA

The population of these 13 counties (or equivalents) in 1990 was 865,640; in 2000 it was 996,512. The total population changed 15.1%. The unadjusted adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (434,385) include 43.6% of the total population in 2000. The adjusted total adherents (613,810) include 61.6% of the population.

Source

*The “Unadjusted Totals” come from the 1990 and 2000 data collected by representatives of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). While quite comprehensive, this data excludes most of the historically African-American denominations and some other major groups. As a result, these numbers will be an underestimate of the total adherence rate, particularly in areas with a large African-American population. The 2000 data included 149 religious groups and the final results are published in Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Copyright © 2002, All rights reserved. The 1990 data included 132 groups and the final results are published in Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990 Copyright © 1990, All rights reserved. Published by Glenmary Research Center, 1312 Fifth Ave., North, Nashville, TN 37208. www.glenmary.org/grc [More information on the data collection]

**The “Adjusted Totals” include all adherents in the denominations counted by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and estimates adherent totals for the historically African-American denominations and other religious groups not listed in the ASARB totals. An article by Roger Finke and Christopher P. Scheitle (2005) reviews how these estimates were computed.

Religious Bodies Congregations Adherents % Change Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection 0 -9 -69.2% American Baptist Churches in the USA +7 +3,482 15.9% Apostolic Christian Churches (Nazarean) 0 +23 92.0% Assemblies of God +6 +4,734 120.7% Catholic Church +2 +14,391 34.0% Christian and Missionary Alliance, The 0 +133 97.1% Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) -3 +370 6.0% Christian Churches and Churches of Christ +4 +2,637 70.2% Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) 0 +70 66.7% Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) +1 +1,716 92.8% Church of God of Prophecy -2 -103 -28.9% Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The +5 +1,240 23.5% Church of the Brethren -1 -186 -33.9% Church of the Nazarene +2 +1,169 41.6% Churches of Christ -3 -117 -4.7% Conservative Congregational Christian Conference 0 -20 -15.5% Episcopal Church +1 +824 3.3% Evangelical Free Church of America, The +1 +210 600.0% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -1 +115 2.8% Evangelical Presbyterian Church 0 +114 175.4% Free Methodist Church of North America -2 -33 n.a. Friends (Quakers) -3 -207 -35.3% Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 0 +1,365 n.a. Independent, Charismatic Churches -1 +3,400 113.3% Independent, Non-Charismatic Churches -4 -195 -8.1% International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 0 +31 19.1% International Pentecostal Church of Christ 0 +10 25.0% International Pentecostal Holiness Church +5 +357 15.8% Jewish Estimate -1 +7,351 91.9% Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod +2 +851 21.9% Mennonite Church USA +1 -43 -12.4% Moravian Church in America–Southern Province -1 -114 n.a. National Association of Free Will Baptists +2 +152 41.4% Orthodox Church in America: Territorial Dioceses 0 +67 n.a. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) +3 +606 2.5% Presbyterian Church in America +1 +411 18.0% Salvation Army, The -1 -68 -13.3% Seventh-day Adventist Church +4 +99 4.2% Southern Baptist Convention +37 +8,945 6.6% Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations +1 +33 4.4% United Church of Christ 0 -87 -9.0% United Methodist Church, The 0 -166 -0.3% Wesleyan Church, The 0 +89 53.9% Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod +1 +98 326.7% Totals: 63 53,745 14.3%

The population of these 13 counties (or equivalents) in 1990 was 865,640; in 2000 it was 996,512. The total population changed 15.1%. The adherent totals for 1990 (456,519) represent 52.7% of the 1990 population. The adherent totals for 2000 (434,385) include 43.6% of the 2000 population. The totals represent the change in groups that reported in both 1990 and 2000 only.

Source

Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990 and Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Copyright © 2002, Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). All rights reserved. Published by Glenmary Research Center, 1312 Fifth Ave., North, Nashville, TN 37208. www.glenmary.org/grc

Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001 (self-identification, ARIS)

Richmond-Petersburg, VA MSA

Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001
(self-identification, ARIS)