Main Religious Preferences of Americans

Religion in the United States Religion in the United States is remarkable both in its high adherence level compared to other developed countries as well as its diversity. The 1 st Amendment to the country's Constitution prevents the government from having any authority in religion, and guarantees the free exercise of religion. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed nations, though similar to other nations in the Americas. Many faiths have flourished in the USA, including imports spanning the country's multicultural heritage as well as those founded within the country, and have led the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in the world. The majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians (78%), while non-Christian religions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and others) collectively make up about 4% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population identified as having no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the “Unchurched Belt”) report a belief in God, yet in the South (the “Bible Belt”) the figure is as high as 86%.

According to a 2007 Pew Research Center survey, the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States:  Christianity: (78.5%) Protestantism (51.3%) Protestantism (51.3%) Roman Catholicism (23.9%) Roman Catholicism (23.9%) Mormonism (1.7%) Mormonism (1.7%) Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.7%) Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.7%) Orthodox Church (0.6%) Orthodox Church (0.6%) other Christian (0.3%) other Christian (0.3%)  Unaffiliated, including atheist or agnostic (16.1%)  Judaism (1.7%)  Buddhism (0.7%)  Islam (0.6%)  Hinduism (0.4%)  other (1.2%)

Catholicism Protestantism The Hispanics/Latinos, Irish, Italians, Polish, French, Spanish, Hungarians, German, and Lebanese brought Catholicism, while Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. Among Protestants, adherents to Anglicanism, Baptism, Calvinism, Puritanism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, Amish, Methodism and Moravian Church were the first to settle to the US, spreading their faith in the new country. Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy Greek, Ukrainian, Russian, Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, and South Indian immigrants brought Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy to the United States. These branches of Christianity have since spread beyond the boundaries of ethnic immigrant communities and now include multi- ethnic membership and parishes.

no religious identification A 2001 survey directed by Dr. Ariela Keysar for the City University of New York indicated that, amongst the more than 100 categories of response, "no religious identification" had the greatest increase in population in both absolute and percentage terms. This category included atheists, agnostics, humanists, deists, and others with no theistic religious beliefs or practices.atheistsagnostics humanistsdeists Judaism After Christianity and no-religion, Judaism is the third-largest religious affiliation in the US, though this identification is not necessarily indicative of religious beliefs or practices. Jews have been present in what is now the US since the 17th century, though large scale immigration did not take place until the 19th century, largely as a result of persecutions in parts of Eastern Europe.Eastern Europe Buddhism Buddhism entered the US during the 19th century with the arrival of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia. The first Buddhist temple was established in San Francisco in 1853 by Chinese Americans.Eastern Asia Chinese Americans

Islam According to some sources, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States, with 20,000 converting each year, mainly among African Americans. African Americans American Islam effectively began with the arrival of African slaves. It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves transported to the United States were Muslim. Among them was Omar Ibn Said, a Muslim Scholar and trader, known for authoring many slave narratives documenting African Islam, the turmoil of integration into a foreign culture, life in Africa, and life as a slave in the Americas.Omar Ibn Said Hinduism The first time Hinduism entered the US is not clearly identifiable. However, large groups of Hindus immigrated from India and other Asian countries since the Immigration and Nationality Act of During the 1960s and 1970s Hinduism exercised fascination contributing to the development of New Age thought. During the same decades the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was founded in the US.Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965New AgeInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness

Bahá'í In the United States, hosting one of the most prominent Bahá'í communities, the official estimate in March 2010 was 167,403 members on record, excluding Alaska and Hawai'i. Unofficial independent studies, however, claims there are over 700,000 Baha'is in USA. The Bahá'í Faith has a long history in the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada, where it was established in 1894 by a Lebanese Bahá'í immigrant to the United States, Ibrahim Kheiralla.official estimateAlaskaHawai'i Sikhs Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. Around 1900, the state of Punjab of British India was hit hard by British practices of mercantilism. Many Sikhs emigrated to the United States, and began arriving to work on farms in California. They traveled via Hong Kong to Angel Island, California, the western counterpart to Ellis Island in New York.PunjabmercantilismHong KongAngel Island, CaliforniaEllis Island Unitarian Universalism Unitarian Universalism came into existence as a unique religion when the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was founded in 1961 as a consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America. Unitarian Universalism is a theologically liberal religious movement characterized by its support of a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning." Unitarian Universalist AssociationAmerican Unitarian AssociationUniversalist Church in Americatheologically liberal religious movement