The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, a product of The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, combines information gathered from interviews with more than 35,000 adults. The findings analyze trends according to demographic factors - such as age, ethnicity, gender, income and education levels - and offer a look at regional differences, including state breakdowns.
The survey says Latter-day Saints account for 58 percent of Utah's population. The next largest group is the unaffiliated, 16 percent, followed by Catholics, 10 percent. Pew Forum officials make clear that "unaffiliated," does not necessarily mean disbelief in God; it simply means lack of affiliation with a particular religion and includes atheists, agnostics as well as those who believe in a higher power.
The unaffiliated is greatest among those ages 18 to 29, with one-in-four saying they are not aligned with any one religion.
"Young adults are busy figuring out a lot of things in their lives," says John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum. "In that situation many people stray away from organized religion."
Other findings outlined in the 140-page report include the fact that retention is lowest among Jehovah's Witnesses, with only 37 percent of those raised in the faith still identifying with the tradition. Catholicism has also been hit hard. While one-in-three adults was raised Catholic, less than 24 percent call themselves Catholic today.
Catholicism's landscape, however, is and will continue to be greatly influenced by immigration, the survey shows. Latinos represent 12 percent of Catholics 70 and older but 45 percent of those between 18 and 29.
Hindus and Mormons are most likely to be married, and to be married to spouses of the same faith. Ninety percent of Hindus marry within their religion, followed by Mormons at 83 percent.
Mormons and Muslims have the largest families, according to the survey.
From the mid-1950s to the '80s, Protestants accounted for nearly two-thirds of the American population. That figure has declined dramatically in recent decades and now Protestants account for 51 percent of the adult population. The decline is within mainline traditions, while evangelical churches - which tend to be more fragmented and diverse - have grown.
With increased diversity nationwide, and the growing pool of those who are religiously unaffiliated but potentially looking, the competition among faith groups is real, says Luis Lugo, director of the forum.
"If you rest on your laurels, you're going to be history," he says.
Future analyses of this far-reaching survey, focusing on beliefs and practices as well as political and social views, are expected later this year.
