Imagine if all American adults were represented by a town comprised of only 100 people. In this small community, what would religion look like?
Earlier this month the Pew Research Center published an article by Aleksandra Sandstrom and Becka A. Alper that answered the question by providing infographics built from data about religious beliefs and behaviors based on the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study.
For the question, “How important is religion?” the respondents answered:
- very: 53
- somewhat: 24
- not t0o: 11
- not at all: 11
- don’t know or refused to answer: 1
So What?
America remains an incredibly religious nation. More than 3 out of every 4 (77%) American adults considers religion to be either somewhat or very important.
- Are you surprised by how many American adults responded that religion is somewhat or very important? Explain.
- What percentage of people living in your neighborhood would you estimate would answer that religion is somewhat or very important? what percentage at your workplace?
- Do you expect the number of American adults who find religion to be somewhat or very important to increase, decrease, or remain relatively stable over the next 10 years. Explain. (For information about how American answers to this question changed from 1985 to 2010, check out “How Important is Religion?“””