(RNS) — The notion of America as a mostly white, mostly Christian country is rapidly becoming a fact for the history books.
“The U.S. religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation that is fundamentally reshaping American politics and culture,” said Dan Cox, research director for Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).
Last week, PRRI released the “American Values Atlas,” an interactive online tool that compiles data about Americans’ opinions, identities and values. One of the biggest takeaways of this years’ study was that, for the first time ever, America is not a majority Protestant nation.
Part of this shift is due to the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, now at 22 percent nationally and 34 percent of young people.
The study also revealed that in 19 states, white Christians are now a minority. The list of states where this is the case includes a few surprises. Several Bible Belt states such as Georgia (No. 16) made the list, and Texas (No. 7) had the same population of white Christians as New York (No. 5).
While one might want to blame these shifts on “secularism,” one force at work seems to be America’s increasing ethnic diversity. According to PRRI, Hispanic Catholics are a growing proportion of Catholics and evangelical Protestants are becoming less white.
Here is the full ranking of the 19 states with their corresponding percentages of white Christians:
- Hawaii – 20 percent
- California – 25 percent
- New Mexico – 33 percent
- Nevada – 36 percent
- New York – 37 percent
- Alaska – 37 percent
- Texas – 37 percent
- Maryland – 38 percent
- Arizona – 38 percent
- Washington – 42 percent
- Florida – 42 percent
- Oregon – 43 percent
- New Jersey – 43 percent
- Colorado – 44 percent
- Illinois – 46 percent
- Georgia – 46 percent
- Vermont – 47 percent
- Delaware – 48 percent
- Louisiana – 49 percent
PRRI’s definition of “white Christian” includes evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Mormons who identify as “white, non-Hispanic.” According to PRRI, “The American Values Atlas draws upon 50,000 annual telephone interviews among a random sample of Americans to deliver an unprecedented level of detail about the United States’ cultural and religious landscape.”
— Jonathan Merritt
© 2015 Religion News Service. Used with permission.
Posted March 6, 2015
Print page
I find this article to be insensitive. Would it not be more important to state what percentage of the various states are Christian. Christians who are not white who read this article might wonder why they are not included in this article. Are the white Christians more important? I question why the Reporter would include this study from the RNS. Though I happen to be a white Christian I spent most of my ministry in cross- cultural ministry where non white Christians out numbered white Christians. I therefore take offense at this article and those who included it the Reporter. I think an apology should be printed in the next issue of the Reporter.
I would suggest having an article that would have a statistical presentation that would include the percent of Christians of various backgrounds in each state and also the percentage of those of various racial backgrounds. In addition it would be helpful to list the percent in each state who claim no religious affiliation. That would also encourage the Christian community to be involved in outreach ministry in those states.
Jesus didn’t care what color any one was.