Mar 19, 2025 - News
Houston is getting less religious, Pew finds
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Houston, and Texas overall, is becoming less Christian.
Why it matters: A growing number of people in the state — and nationwide — don't identify with any religion.
- The shift is largely driven by Gen Z and younger Millennials, according to the Pew Research Center.
The big picture: Fewer than half of 18- to 29-year-olds nationwide identify as Christian (45%), and nearly the same portion have no religious affiliation (44%), according to Pew's Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed more than 35,000 Americans.
- Meanwhile, 78% of those 65 and older identify as Christian.
State of prayer: More Houston residents identify as non-Christian or religiously unaffiliated now than in 2014.
- 67% of Houston residents identify as Christian, down from 73% in 2014.
- 7% identify as another religion — the same from a decade ago. 3% are Muslim, when a decade ago, only 1% were.
- 25% are religiously unaffiliated, up from 20% in 2014.
Fun fact: Texans are more religious than the broader U.S. population.
- 63% of Texans report they are very or somewhat religious, compared to 57% nationwide.