A survey from Gallup shows that religious affiliations have decreased dramatically among Democrats over the last 24 years.
According to Breitbart, the Gallup poll reports that in 1999, the number of Democrats who identified as religious in some way was at 60%, compared to 62% of Republicans. In 2023, that percentage is now just 37%, a staggering 23-point decrease that amounts to an average decrease of 1% every year.
“During that time, the percentage of Democrats identifying as spiritual but not religious has increased 14 points,” the survey reports, “while the percentage saying they are neither has tripled.” Meanwhile, “there has been no meaningful change in Republicans’ self-identification as religious or spiritual.” The percentage of Republicans who identify as religious has decreased by just one point since 1999, at 61% today. In the same span of time, the number of Republicans who identify as “spiritual” rather than religious rose slightly, from 25% to 28%.
Among independents, the number of those who identify as “spiritual” has decreased slightly from 37% to 32%, while those who identify as neither religious nor spiritual has risen noticeably, from 13% to 21%.
A sizable plurality of Americans still identify as religious, at 47%, compared to 33% who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious, and a mere 2% identified as both. Just 18% overall say they are neither spiritual nor religious.
“Over the same period, the percentage identifying as religious has declined by seven percentage points,” the survey continues. “The decline in Americans identifying as religious is consistent with the trends for other Gallup measures of religiosity and religious practice, particularly in the past two decades. However, Gallup has documented steeper declines in formal religious practice (church attendance and church membership) than in belief in God and prayer.”
The poll was conducted from July 3-27, with a sample size of 1,015 American adults.