Survey: Most Americans have changed faith

More than half of Americans have changed their faith or denomination in the competitive U.S. religious market place, a new survey says.

“Americans change religion often, early and for many different reasons,” said John Green, a fellow at the the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The changes reflect a robust, dynamic American religious life, he said. The survey was taken by 2,867 adults in the U.S.

About 44 percent of Americans belong to a different denomination or faith than the one they were raised in. Add those who left their childhood faith but returned to it, or left permanently, and more than half of Americans have switched, Green said.

They change because loss of faith or disagreements over church teachings, such as on homosexuality, or the role of women, or because their spiritual needs are not being met. Protestants often change in response to events such as marrying someone from a different denomination.

Most of the changes takes place between the ages of 24 and 36, the polling showed.

The Catholic Church has suffered the greatest loss, with more than 1 in 10 Americans saying they are former Catholics. For every convert, about four people leave the Catholic church, the survey said.

More information: www.pewforum.org