In short
About 29% of US adults are religiously unaffiliated according to Pew Research Center, and that share has plateaued after climbing from 16% in 2007. PRRI puts the figure at 28% in both 2024 and 2025, and Gallup shows a stable trend, confirming the leveling off. But "none" does not mean nonbeliever: 70% of nones believe in God or a higher power, and the largest slice describe their religion as "nothing in particular" rather than atheist or agnostic. Nones seldom pray or attend services, and the top reasons they give for leaving are moral and intellectual rather than anti-spiritual.
- The decades-long surge has plateaued: PRRI recorded 28% unaffiliated in both 2024 and 2025.
- Most nones are not atheists; the largest slice call their religion "nothing in particular".
- Being a none rarely means nonbelief: 70% believe in God or a higher power.
- The gender gap is narrowing because young women are leaving, not because young men are returning.
About 29% of US adults are religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, and that share has plateaued after a long climb from 16% in 2007. PRRI's 2025 Census of American Religion puts the figure at 28% in both 2024 and 2025, confirming the leveling off. But "none" does not mean nonbeliever: Pew finds 70% of nones believe in God or a higher power, and among all US adults 83% still say they believe in God or a universal spirit. The largest slice of nones describe their religion as "nothing in particular" rather than atheist or agnostic. Gallup, PRRI, and Pew now agree the two-decade surge has slowed.
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults religiously unaffiliated | 29% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Unaffiliated share (plateau) | 28% | 2024-2025 | PRRI |
| Nones who believe in God or a higher power | 70% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| Nones who seldom or never pray | 71% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| Adults ages 18-24 unaffiliated | 43% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Most unaffiliated state (Vermont) | 41% | 2025 | PRRI |
How many Americans are religiously unaffiliated
The topline size of the nones, their internal breakdown into atheist, agnostic and "nothing in particular," and their standing relative to Christian groups. Within the unaffiliated themselves, 63% say their religion is "nothing in particular," 20% are agnostic and 17% are atheist.
About 29% of US adults are religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
19% of US adults describe their religion as "nothing in particular," the largest slice of the unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who identify as atheist | 5% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who identify as agnostic | 6% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Unaffiliated: larger than any single Christian tradition (Christians combined lead at 62%) | 29% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Estimated unaffiliated adults (derived from the 29% share) | ~76 million | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
The plateau after years of growth
The two-decade climb from 16% to 29% has leveled off since about 2019, with Pew, PRRI and Gallup all showing stabilization rather than reversal. Pew calls the stabilization a plateau "at least temporarily," not a proven permanent reversal.
The religiously unaffiliated share of Americans was 28% in both 2024 and 2025, indicating the decades-long growth has plateaued, according to PRRI's 2025 Census of American Religion.
After rising rapidly for decades, the religiously unaffiliated population has leveled off since around 2019, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated share in 2007 | 16% | 2007 | Pew Research Center |
| Unaffiliated share in 2014 | 23% | 2014 | Pew Research Center |
| Christian share, relatively stable since 2019 | 62% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Americans with no religion (Gallup wording) | ~22% | 2024 | Gallup |
| Adults saying religion is "very important" (was 58% in 2012) | 47% | 2025 | Gallup |
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Most nones still hold spiritual beliefs
Being a "none" rarely means being a nonbeliever. Most nones believe in God or a higher power, and large majorities of all adults still affirm a soul and something spiritual beyond the natural world. Only a minority of nones are strict nonbelievers.
70% of religious nones say they believe in God or another higher power, according to Pew Research Center's 2024 report on religious nones.
Only 19% of religious nones are strict nonbelievers who reject God, a soul, an afterlife and anything beyond the natural world, according to Pew Research Center's 2024 report on religious nones.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nones who believe in spiritual forces beyond the natural world | 63% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| Nones for whom spirituality is very important or who call themselves spiritual | ~50% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| All US adults who believe people have a soul or spirit | 86% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| All US adults who believe in God or a universal spirit | 83% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| All US adults who believe there is something spiritual beyond the natural world | 79% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How nones practice (and why they leave)
Prayer and attendance are low among nones, and the top reasons for disaffiliation are moral and intellectual rather than anti-spiritual. Switching back into a religion is uncommon.
71% of religious nones say they seldom or never pray, according to Pew Research Center's 2024 report on religious nones.
78% of religious nones say the belief that you can be moral without religion is an extremely or very important reason they are unaffiliated, according to Pew Research Center's 2025 report on why adults are nones.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nones who seldom or never attend religious services | 90% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
| Nones citing questioning religion's teachings as a top reason | 64% | 2025 | Pew Research Center |
| Nones citing not needing religion to be spiritual | 54% | 2025 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults raised as nones who now identify with a religion | 3% | 2025 | Pew Research Center |
Who the nones are: age and gender
Nones skew young, and the long-standing gender gap is narrowing because young women's unaffiliation is rising toward young men's. The narrowing reflects young women leaving, not young men becoming more religious, so it should not be read as a male revival.
43% of US adults ages 18 to 24 are religiously unaffiliated, compared with 13% of those 74 and older, according to Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
43% of young women ages 18 to 29 are religiously unaffiliated in 2025, up from 29% in 2013, according to PRRI's 2025 Census of American Religion.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young men ages 18-29 unaffiliated (essentially flat from 35% in 2013) | 35% | 2025 | PRRI |
| Americans ages 18-29 unaffiliated (up from 32% in 2013) | 38% | 2024 | PRRI |
| Gen Z and millennial adults with no religious preference (vs ~1 in 8 boomers) | >30% | 2024 | Gallup |
Where the nones are concentrated
Unaffiliation ranges widely by state, from the Northeast and Pacific Northwest highs to the Deep South lows. Attitudes toward religion among nones are mixed rather than uniformly hostile.
Vermont is the most religiously unaffiliated state, with about 41% of residents claiming no religion, according to PRRI's Census of American Religion.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi, among the least unaffiliated states | 19% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Nones who say religion does more harm than good (41% say equal) | 43% | 2023 | Pew Research Center |
How we compiled these statistics
Every figure on this page is traced to a primary source and dated to the year the data was collected. Topline size, breakdown, belief, practice, age and state figures come from Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, its January 2024 report on religious nones, and its December 2025 report on why adults are nones. Plateau and young-adult figures also draw on PRRI's 2024 and 2025 Census of American Religion, and Gallup's tracking of religious preference and importance. We label the estimated ~76 million headcount as derived from the 29% share rather than a raw count, note that Gallup's lower "no religion" figure reflects question wording rather than a contradiction, and frame the narrowing gender gap as young women's rising unaffiliation rather than a male revival. We report the harm-versus-good figure as an attitude, not a claim about religion's effects.
Many nones still believe in God but rarely pray. If you are rediscovering faith or just curious, Pray Focus offers a free library of prayers for seekers and doubt, plus a free prayer generator to help you put words to a prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Pew Research Center, 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (Executive Summary)
- Pew Research Center, Religious Nones in America: Who They Are and What They Believe (Jan 2024)
- Pew Research Center, US Christian Decline May Be Stabilizing (Religious Landscape Study, Feb 2025)
- Pew Research Center, Why Many US Adults Are Nones (Dec 2025)
- PRRI, 2025 Census of American Religion
- PRRI, New Data Rebuts "Religious Revival" Claims (2025)
- Gallup, Religious Preferences Largely Stable in U.S. Since 2020
- Gallup, Americans' Religious Engagement Holds at Lower Levels (2026)
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