Almost Half of LGBT Americans Are Religiously Unaffiliated
In 1976, 81 percent of Americans identified as white and Christian. Little more than one generation later, that number has nosedived. Today, just 43 percent of Americans say they are white and Christian.
So says a wide-ranging and in-depth study of more than 101,000 Americans – a huge sample size – titled “America’s Changing Religious Identity,” published by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute).
It’s a staggering change, in an especially short period of time.
The entire study is fascinating, but for those who don’t have time to read through it here are the study’s key findings:
“White Christians now account for fewer than half of the public.”
“White evangelical Protestants are in decline—along with white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.”
“America’s youngest religious groups are all non-Christian.”
“The Catholic Church is experiencing an ethnic transformation.”
“Atheists and agnostics account for only about one-quarter (27%) of all religiously unaffiliated Americans.”
“Jews, Hindus, and Unitarian-Universalists stand out as the most educated groups in the American religious landscape.”
“Nearly half (46%) of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are religiously unaffiliated. This is roughly twice the number of Americans overall (24%) who are religiously unaffiliated.”
“White Christians have become a minority in the Democratic Party.”
“White evangelical Protestants remain the dominant religious force in the GOP.”
So what are we talking about here?
Let’s remember that Donald Trump won the White House largely because of white Christian voters – especially white evangelical Christian voters.
NBC News’ senior political editor Mark Murray, pointing to a new NBC News poll on Wednesday, posted this chart:
Notice who’s at the top, and who’s at the bottom.
White Christian America, especially white evangelical Christian America, no longer holds the power they once did, despite their open-door access to Donald Trump. That will soon change, and likely will end with whoever is elected after him (unless Mike Pence becomes the next president.)
Donald Trump’s base is shrinking, and it’s critical that Democrats recognize who the future belongs to.
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Image by Rafael Gunti via Flickr and a CC licenseÂ