World Religions: Religion in America

The RLS surveys more than 35,000 Americans from all 50 states about their religious affiliations, beliefs and practices, and social and political views.

American politics and policy ranging from church-state relations to immigration and the environment all have a significant religious dimension. Social and political movements are often motivated by faith or religious identity, and some of the most contentious public debates of our time revolve around moral beliefs. These resources address the changing role of religion in American public life.

The American Values Atlas (AVA) is a powerful new tool for understanding the complex demographic, religious, and cultural changes occurring in the United States today.

From Duke University, "The National Congregations Study (NCS) is an ongoing national survey effort to gather information about the basic characteristics of America's congregations."

From the 2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States, tables on religious bodies and self-described religious identification.

The US Religion Census is your source for religious data at the county level. It reports the number of congregations in every US county equivalent for each of 236 faith groups.

The idea that the United States has always been a bastion of religious freedom is reassuring—and utterly at odds with the historical record

To Understand How Religion Shapes America, Look To Its Early Days

Library of Congress exhibit about Religion in Eighteenth-Century America.

This website is based on an exhibition that was on view at the National Museum of American History from June 28, 2017 to June 3, 2018.

How religious ideas and spiritual experiences have shaped America's public life over the last 400 years.