A newly released Pew study on religious beliefs in the United States shows a growing percentage of people who choose "none" as their religion also consider themselves Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party.

"Religious 'nones' are now more numerous among Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults than are Catholics, evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants or members of the historically black Protestant tradition." (Source: PewForum.org)

That is not to say the survey respondents who choose “none” are all non-believers.

More trending stories

“In fact, the majority of Americans without a religious affiliation say they believe in God. As a group, however, the ‘nones’ are far less religiously observant than Americans who identify with a specific faith.”

What about Republicans?

There are a growing number of “nones” in the GOP, too, but the growth is not as dramatic as among Democrats, according to the study.

"More than eight-in-ten Republicans continue to identify with Christianity, including nearly four-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning adults who identify with evangelical Protestant denominations."

Read more here

About the Author

Featured

Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

Credit: Jenni Girtman