Most Americans are spiritual or religious in some way, and many also say that their level of spirituality and religiosity has changed over time.
But Americans are much more likely to say they’ve gotten better spiritual Rather than say that it has become more religiousaccording to a new analysis of the 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to examine how Americans have changed their spirituality and religiosity over the course of their lives. This is based on the American Spirituality report, which surveyed 11,201 respondents from July 31 to August 6, 2023. All respondents to this survey are members of the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel. Recruited through a nationwide random sampling of residential addresses, nearly all U.S. adults are given the opportunity to choose. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, religious affiliation, and other categories. For more information, see ATP methodology.
Below are the questions, answers, and methodology used in this analysis.
About 41% of U.S. adults say they have grown more spiritually over their lifetimes, compared to 24% who say they have become more religious..
In contrast, 13% of U.S. adults say they have become less spiritual over time, and 33% say they are less religious.
The remaining people say that their level of spirituality and religiosity remains the same or fluctuates, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing.
As part of a broader study in the United States that explored the concept of spirituality and how it differs from religion, we asked respondents how their spirituality and religiosity had changed. Ta. We did not define the terms “spiritual” or “religious” in this study, and we do not know whether changes in spirituality or religiosity are part of gradual long-term changes or sudden, dramatic changes. Or maybe it was something else, I didn’t ask.
But the broader survey asked respondents to explain in their own words what the word “spirituality” meant to them. About a quarter gave a description related to organized religion. For example, it cites belief in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or other elements of Christian theology.
Approximately one-third of respondents provided answers they categorized as “belief in something else,” such as belief in a higher power or belief in the invisible or otherworldly.
Which Americans have become more or less spiritual?
Evangelical Protestants (55%) and members of historically black Protestant traditions (53%) are particularly likely to say they have become more spiritual throughout their lives. Few in those groups say they became that way. few spiritual.
Meanwhile, among religiously unaffiliated Americans, 28% said their spirituality had grown over time, and 25% said it had declined. Religiously unaffiliated Americans are people who claim to be atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular.” Atheists particularly stand out, with only 9% saying they have become more spiritual over time, and 49% saying they have become less spiritual.
Differences by age
Across all age groups we analyzed, respondents were more likely to say they had become more spiritual over time than the opposite.
But among older Americans, the differences are even more pronounced. For example, among people age 65 and older, 45% say they have become more spiritual over time, but only 8% say they have become less spiritual. By comparison, among U.S. adults under age 30, 30% have become more spiritual and 20% have become less spiritual.
Which Americans are more or less religious?
About 47% of evangelical Protestants say they have become more religious over time, a higher percentage than any other religious group analyzed. Members of historically black Protestant churches are also more likely to say they have become particularly religious.
Far fewer evangelicals (17%) or members of historically black Protestant traditions (14%) say they have become less religious over time.
Catholics and mainline Protestants are further divided, with roughly equal proportions of each group saying they have become more or less religious over time.
At the other end of the spectrum, Jewish adults (13%) are the least likely and by far the most likely to say they have become more religious over time among the religious groups analyzed. (29%) said they were no longer religious.
A small majority of religiously unaffiliated adults say they have become less religious over the course of their lives. This includes roughly equal numbers of atheists (74%) and agnostics (71%), and about half (51%) who describe their religion as “nothing special.” contained.
Differences by age
There are clear patterns by age, with older Americans more likely to say they have become more religious over time, while younger Americans are more likely to say they have become less religious.
For example, among Americans age 65 and older, 33% say they have become more religious over their lifetime, and 24% say they have become less religious. Among U.S. adults under 30, the pattern is reversed, with 15% saying they have become more religious and 42% saying they are less religious.
Note: Here, Questions used for analysisalong with the response, Research method.
Asta Karo He is a research assistant specializing in religion at the Pew Research Center.
