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Americans with no formal religious identity, popularly known as the “nones,” reached a record share of the population in 2025, according to Gallup data that shows fewer than 50% of adults also report that religion is “very important” in their lives.
The findings, based on interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults across Gallup’s monthly 2025 surveys, show that the share of Americans identifying as “nones” reached a new high of 24%, up from 21% to 22% over the previous four years. The share of Americans identifying as “nones” has grown steadily from 2% in 1948 to its current record.
In addition to the quarter of American adults identifying as “nones,” some 28% have said religion is “not very important” in their lives, which has remained constant since 2022.
Less than half (47%) of American adults say religion is “very important” in their lives, while another 25% said it is “fairly important” to them.
The share of Americans who say religion is “very important” in their lives has registered below 50% in recent years. It has been in gradual decline from 58% in 2012, and 70% to 75% in the 1950s and 1960s, according to Gallup.
“Americans’ relationship with religion continues to evolve, marked by fewer adults describing religion as central to their lives, rising religious non-affiliation and persistently low levels of religious service attendance,” Megan Brenan, a senior editor at Gallup, concluded.
The survey shows that while a majority of all demographic groups in America said their faith was very important to them from 2001 to 2005, only six groups remain highly religious, well over 50% today. They are: Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Republicans, Protestant or non-denominational Christians, black adults, adults aged 65 and older, and Southerners, said Gallup. Majorities of lower-income Americans, women, and those aged 50 to 64 also report that religion is very important to them.
“While religion remains deeply important to major segments of the population (Republicans, Protestants, Black adults, older Americans, and Southerners in particular), the long-term trajectory shows a steady decline driven largely by generational replacement,” Brennan said. “Younger adults are both less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to attend services, reshaping the nation’s religious landscape as they constitute a growing share of the population.”
In “Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion,” published in the peer-reviewed open-access academic journal Socius last year, researchers suggested that more Americans are leaving organized religion in search of personalized faith perspectives that embrace syncretism — a fusion of different religions.
“Our analysis shows how young people are responding to the bureaucratization and rationalization that [German sociologist Max] Weber predicted would create an ‘iron cage’ in modern institutions, developing new forms of religious and spiritual expression outside formal institutions,” the researchers wrote.
“We bring the iron cage argument back to religion, making the case that rising individualization and autonomy reflected in the 1960s countercultural movement set the stage for a revolution against the bureaucratization and politicization of religion.”
© The Christian Post
