3 in 4 Americans still identify with Christianity in 2014 – poll

(Photo: Dave Edmonds)

With just a few days left until 2015, a newly-released poll has found that the majority of Americans still identify with the Christian faith.

The survey conducted by Gallup Daily showed that out of 173,490 interviewed respondents, around three in four Americans stated the Christian faith as their religious preference.

Fifty per cent of them were Protestants or other non-Catholic Christians, 24 per cent were Catholics and 2 per cent Mormons.

According to the data, the number of American Protestants dropped by one percentage point from 2013 to 2014, while the proportion of Catholics and Mormons stayed the same.

Six per cent of Americans identified as being of a non-Christian religion that included Jewish (2%), Muslims (less than 1%), and other non-Christian religions (3%). The other 16 per cent stated that they do not have a religious preference, and three per cent did not answer the question.

In 2014, more than half of Americans claimed to attend religious services at least monthly, with 41 per cent saying they attended services weekly or almost every week.  One in five confirmed they never attend religious services.

While Protestants account for the largest religious group in the US, church attendance varied significantly according to ethnicity. Sixty-two per cent of Hispanic Protestants said they attend church weekly or nearly weekly, compared to 50 per cent of non-Hispanic white Protestants.

Only forty-four per cent of Hispanic Catholics and the same percentage of non-Hispanic white Catholics said they attend church weekly or nearly weekly.  

Mormons were the most dutiful when it came to attending religious services, with three quarters saying they attend weekly or nearly weekly.  Only 53 per cent of Protestants and other Christians attended religious service this frequently.  

Jews and non-Christian religions attended the least - only 19 per cent in each group said they attended religious service weekly or nearly weekly.

Results for the Gallup poll were based on telephone interviews of a random sample of adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.