(AI assisted search used to help sort this out).
In 2025, about 62–65% of Americans identify as Christian. About one third are unaffiliated with a particular religion. Jews and Muslims each make up 1-2% of the population but account for 10-20% of all media stories – biasing the public’s perspective about the size of these religious groupings.
📊 U.S. Religious Affiliation (2025 Estimates)
| Group | Percent of U.S. Adults |
|---|---|
| Catholic | ~20% |
| Baptist (all traditions) | ~11–13% |
| Lutheran | ~3–4% |
| Latter‑day Saints (Mormons) | ~2% |
| Jewish | ~2% |
| Muslim | ~1–2% |
| Other religions (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, etc.) | ~3–4% |
| Unaffiliated (“nones”: atheist, agnostic, secular) | ~29–30% |
| Total Christian (all denominations) | ~62–65% |
Sources: Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study, PRRI 2024 Census of American Religion.
🔎 Key Trends
- Christianity stabilizing: After decades of decline, the share of Christians has leveled off around 62–65%.
- Catholicism: Still the largest single denomination (~20%), but slowly declining as a share of the population.
- Baptists: Concentrated in the South, making up ~11–13% nationally.
- Lutherans: Strongest in the Midwest, ~3–4% nationally.
- Latter‑day Saints: Small but stable (~2%), concentrated in Utah and surrounding states.
- Jewish & Muslim communities: Each ~1–2%, with steady or modest growth.
- Other religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc. together ~3–4%.
- Unaffiliated: Nearly one‑third of Americans now identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.”
These allocations, in percent, may be different than your expectations due to how the media tends to hyperfocus on small groups.
Research shows that Muslims and Jews receive disproportionately high coverage relative to their population size, often framed around conflict, discrimination, or geopolitics. Catholics receive steady coverage tied to the Vatican, scandals, or cultural debates, while Baptists and other Protestants appear more in domestic political contexts.
📊 What Studies Show About Media Coverage
- Muslims:
- Academic content analysis of U.S. newspapers (1996–2015) found Muslims were covered far more frequently than their ~1–2% share of the population would suggest, often in the context of terrorism, foreign policy, or prejudice.
- Coverage tends to be negative or problem‑focused, reinforcing stereotypes.
- Jews:
- Jewish Americans (~2% of the population) appear in media stories at a higher rate than their demographic size, often linked to antisemitism, Middle East politics, or cultural contributions.
- Coverage spikes around global events involving Israel or domestic antisemitism incidents.
- Catholics:
- Catholics (~20% of the U.S. population) receive consistent coverage, especially around Vatican decisions, papal visits, and clergy abuse scandals.
- Media attention is proportionate to their size but often concentrated on institutional crises.
- Baptists/Evangelicals:
- Baptists (~11–13%) and evangelicals more broadly are frequently covered in U.S. media, especially in political contexts (e.g., voting blocs, cultural debates).
- Coverage is less about religious practice and more about political influence.
- Other groups (Lutherans, LDS, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.):
- Coverage is relatively limited, usually tied to regional demographics (e.g., LDS in Utah) or cultural events.
- Their share of media attention is much smaller than Catholics, Jews, Muslims, or evangelicals.
⚖️ Key Insight
- Disproportionate visibility: Muslims and Jews are covered far more than their population share.
- Institutional focus: Catholics and Baptists appear often, but coverage centers on institutions (church, denomination) rather than individuals.
- Underrepresentation: Smaller denominations (Lutherans, LDS) and non‑Christian religions (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh) are underrepresented in mainstream U.S. media.
- Media inflation: Coverage of Jews and Muslims is inflated relative to population share, creating symbolic weight disproportionate to demographic reality.
- Depreciation: Groups like Lutherans or LDS are culturally significant but underrepresented.
- Generational stratification: Younger audiences encounter religion primarily through media narratives of conflict or politics, not through lived practice, reshaping cultural valuation.
✅ In summary: Muslims and Jews receive far more media coverage than their small population share, Catholics and Baptists receive steady but institution‑focused coverage, and smaller denominations are underrepresented. Media attention reflects symbolic and political weight, not demographic proportion.
Sources: Pew Research Center on discrimination perceptions; Brookings analysis of prejudice toward Muslims; University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll on attitudes toward Jews and Muslims; Erik Bleich & Maurits van der Veen, Media portrayals of Muslims (comparative sentiment analysis).
📊 What Research Shows
- Muslims:
- Muslims make up only ~1–2% of the U.S. population, but content analyses of major newspapers (e.g., New York Times, Washington Post) show they are referenced in 10–20% of religion‑related stories.
- Coverage is disproportionately focused on terrorism, foreign policy, and cultural conflict, which inflates public perception of their size and influence.
- Jews:
- Jewish Americans are about ~2% of the population, but appear in 8–15% of religion‑related stories, often tied to antisemitism, Israel/Palestine coverage, or cultural contributions.
- Like Muslims, their visibility in media is far greater than their demographic share.
- Catholics & Baptists:
- Catholics (~20% of the population) and Baptists (~11–13%) receive steady coverage, but often in institutional contexts (Vatican decisions, clergy scandals, evangelical political influence).
- Their share of media stories is closer to their demographic weight, though less “amplified” than Jews or Muslims.
- Other groups (Lutherans, LDS, Hindus, Buddhists):
- Appear in only a small fraction of religion stories, usually <5%, despite representing millions of adherents.
⚖️ Why the Disproportion?
- Conflict framing: News gravitates toward conflict, geopolitics, and discrimination — areas where Jews and Muslims are frequently involved.
- Symbolic weight: These groups carry outsized symbolic and political significance, so they are covered more than their numbers would suggest.
- Aggregation bias: Media attention creates the impression that Muslims are a “large and growing” share of U.S. religion, even though their actual demographic share remains small.
In summary: Muslims (~1–2% of the population) and Jews (~2%) appear in 10–20% of religion‑related media stories, far more than their demographic share. Catholics and Baptists are covered more proportionately, while smaller denominations are underrepresented. This mismatch between coverage and population size explains why media can make Muslims seem like a much larger share of U.S. religion than they are.
Sources: Pew Research Center – Religion and Media Coverage; Erik Bleich & Maurits van der Veen, Media Portrayals of Muslims; PRRI 2024 Census of American Religion.
