Religion in the United States

Template:Life in the United States

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Despite official separation of church and state, many churches in the U.S. take strong stances on political subjects.
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Percentage of population claimed by religious groups

Religion in the United States is an integral part of the culture of the United States. The U.S. is one of the most religious of all the developed nations of the world. Gallup International reports that 42 percent of American citizens regularly attend religious services, compared to 15 percent of French citizens, 10 percent of UK citizens, and 25 percent of Israeli citizens.

The American religious tradition is primarily Christian, but the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion and the diversity of the population means that no one religion holds sway over the entirety of the population. Also, a tradition of separation of church and state developed early in the nation's history contributes to this diversity. Culture "wars" often have roots in religious differences, but religious violence is rare and on a small scale.

The considerable majority of presidents have had some affiliation with Protestant Christianity, several early holders of the office being Deists, with at least four Unitarians and a single Roman Catholic. (See the list of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations.) Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning, and many churches and religious figures are highly politically active, though to keep their status as tax-exempt organizations they must not officially endorse a candidate.

Table of religious bodies in the United States

[Edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Religion_in_the_United_States&action=edit)]

The below table represents selected data as reported to the U.S. Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 60,000 or more. The definition of "church member" is determined by the religious body. It should also be noted that a growing sector of the population (14%)[1] (http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm) does not identify itself as a member of any religion.


Religious body Year Reported Churches Reported Membership
(thousands)
Number of Pastors
African Methodist Episcopal Church 1999 6,200 2,500 (NA)
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 1998 3,098 1,252 2,571
American Baptist Association 1998 1,760 275 1,740
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. 1998 3,800 1,507 4,145
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Diocese of North America 1998 220 65 263
Armenian Apostolic Church of America 1998 28 200 25
Assemblies of God 1998 11,937 2,526 18,148
Baptist Bible Fellowship International 1997 4,500 1,200 (NA)
Baptist General Conference 1998 876 141 (NA)
Baptist Missionary Association of America 1999 1,334 235 1,525
Buddhist 1990 (NA) 401 (NA)
Christian and Missionary Alliance, The 1998 1,964 346 1,629
Christian Brethren (Plymouth Brethren) 1997 1,150 100 (NA)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1997 3,818 879 3,419
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ 1998 5,579 1,072 5,525
Christian Congregation, Inc., The 1998 1,438 117 1,436
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 1983 2,340 719 (NA)
Christian Reformed Church in North America 1998 733 199 655
Church of God in Christ 1991 15,300 5,500 28,988
Church of God of Prophecy 1997 1,908 77 2,000
Church of God (Anderson, IN) 1998 2,353 234 3,034
Church of God (Cleveland, TN) 1995 6,060 753 3,121
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1997 10,811 4,923 32,433
Church of the Brethren 1997 1,095 141 827
Church of the Nazarene 1998 5,101 627 4,598
Churches of Christ 1999 15,000 1,500 14,500
Conservative Baptist Association of America 1998 1,200 200 (NA)
Coptic Orthodox Church 1992 85 180 65
Cumberland Presbyterian Church 1998 774 87 634
Episcopal Church 1996 7,390 2,365 8,131
Evangelical Covenant Church, The 1998 628 97 607
Evangelical Free Church of America, The 1995 1,224 243 1,936
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1998 10,862 5,178 9,646
Evangelical Presbyterian Church 1998 187 61 262
Free Methodist Church of North America 1998 990 73 (NA)
Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches and Ministers International 1999 896 275 2,070
General Association of General Baptists 1997 790 72 1,085
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches 1998 1,415 102 (NA)
General Conference Mennonite Brethren Churches 1996 368 82 590
Grace Gospel Fellowship 1992 128 60 160
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 1998 523 1,955 596
Hindu 1990 (NA) 227 (NA)
Independent Fundamental Churches of America 1999 659 62 (NA)
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 1998 1,851 238 4,900
International Council of Community Churches 1998 150 250 182
International Pentecostal Holiness Church 1998 1,716 177 1,507
Jehovah's Witnesses 1999 11,064 1,040 (NA)
Jewish 1998 (NA) 6,041 (NA)
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, The 1998 6,218 2,594 5,227
Mennonite Church 1998 926 92 (NA)
Muslim/Islamic 1990 (NA) 527 (NA)
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches 1998 416 67 534
National Association of Free Will Baptists 1998 2,297 210 2,800
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. 1987 2,500 3,500 8,000
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. 1992 33,000 8,200 32,832
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America 1992 (NA) 2,500 (NA)
Old Order Amish Church 1993 898 81 3,592
Orthodox Church in America 1998 625 1,000 700
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. 1998 1,750 1,500 4,500
Pentecostal Church of God 1998 1,237 104 (NA)
Presbyterian Church in America 1997 1,340 280 1,642
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 1998 11,260 3,575 9,390
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. 1995 2,000 2,500 (NA)
Reformed Church in America 1998 902 296 915
Religious Society of Friends (Conservative). 1994 1,200 104 (NA)
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 1998 1,236 140 19,319
Roman Catholic Church in the United States, The 1998 19,584 62,018 45,000
Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, The 1996 37 65 37
Salvation Army, The 1998 1,388 471 2,920
Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada 1986 68 67 60
Seventh-day Adventist Church 1998 4,405 840 2,454
Southern Baptist Convention 1998 40,870 15,729 71,520
Unitarian Universalist 1990 (NA) 502 (NA)
United Church of Christ 1998 6,017 1,421 4,317
United Methodist Church, The 1998 36,170 8,400 (NA)
Wesleyan Church, The 1998 1,590 120 1,806
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod 1997 1,240 411 1,222

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