When I ask people to guess what percentage of the American population is made up of white Christians, their answers typically range from just over half to nearly the entire population. And, if they were responding decades ago they would have been correct.
In reality, less than half of the population belongs to this group today following decades of decline.
- 1990: 72%
- 2006: 54%
- 2018: 42%
Recent Decline
Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published the graphic above in May 2023 illustrating the changes not only in the total American population that is white Christian, but also how the subgroups that comprise the group have experienced decline from 2006 through 2022. The article summarizes those shifts as follows:
Included in the white Christian portion of the U.S. adult population are 14% of Americans who are white evangelical Protestant (down from 23% in 2006), 14% who are white mainline/non-evangelical Protestant (down from 18% in 2006), 13% who are white Catholic (down from 16% in 2006), and small proportions of white Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Orthodox Christians.
So What?
As a mainline Protestant leader and clergyperson I know well the story of decline within my religious subgroup (as well as the even smaller entities or denominations that comprise this group). And, I often have to explain to my parishioners and others in this group that while our story of decline is well documented it hasn’t happened in isolation. While white mainline Protestant decline started before white evangelical Protestant decline, this graphic highlights how quickly they have caught up in recent years.
By 2022, white mainline Protestants and white Evangelical Protestants each accounted for 14% of the population. And, white Catholics were just a bit smaller at 13%.
I wonder
- Are you part of the 42%? (if yes, to which subgroup do you belong today? to which other or others have you belonged in the past?)
- How has the dramatic decline in white Christianity impacted you over the last 20 years? your congregation?
Related Resources
For more on my exploration of the decline of Mainline Protestantism visit My Religion is Dying: A Deep Dive into Mainline Decline, which includes links to 50 additional posts I’ve written on the topic.