Religious affiliation is shifting in Indiana
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As Lent continues and Easter approaches, fewer Hoosiers are observing the Christian traditions compared to decades ago, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
The big picture: "This is a broad-based social change," Alan Cooperman, the director of religion research at the nonpartisan think tank, told Axios.
- "We've had rising shares of people who don't identify with any religion — so-called nones — and declining shares who identify as Christian, in all parts of the country, in all parts of the population, by ethnicity and race, among both men and women, and among people at all levels of the educational spectrum."
By the numbers: 65% of Hoosiers identify as Christian, according to Pew's Religious Landscape Study that surveyed more than 35,000 Americans about religious and social beliefs. That's a steady drop from 2014 (72%) and 2007 (82%).
- The state's religiously unaffiliated — atheists, agnostics and those identifying as "nothing in particular" — has risen from 16% in 2007 to 31% last year.
- Roughly one-third of Christians statewide say they identify as Evangelical Protestant (32%), followed by Catholic (14%) and Mainline Protestant (11%).
- "Nothing in particular" leads the way among Indiana's religiously unaffiliated at 21%, followed by atheist at 5% and agnostic at 4%.
State of pray: Researchers note that the trend away from religion is driven in large part by Gen Z and younger millennials.
Yes, but: While many people are moving away from organized religion, some are embracing spirituality.
- About 1 in 3 adults consider themselves "very" spiritual — a number that's increased since Pew last polled on this topic in 2023.
What they're saying: The line between religious and spiritual is one that Indy resident Derrick Jackson has been walking for the past few years.
- A Texas native, Jackson told Axios he was raised in a deeply religious household as part of a fairly strict Black Baptist family. And while he still considers himself a Christian and a spiritual person, he no longer attends any religious services.
- "I just realized I never had the chance to really think about my relationship with religion. I was told what to believe in, and there was no room to even consider believing in something else because it was part of everything we did," he said. "A lot of those values just don't feel like me anymore."
Between the lines: A significant portion of U.S. adults (35%) have switched religions since childhood, according to the study.
What we're hearing: "It's not surprising," Penny Edgell, professor in the sociology department at the University of Minnesota, tells Axios.
- "I think if you're more progressive, you might look at religion and say that the mainstream religious institutions don't reflect my values," particularly when it comes to topics like LGBTQ+ inclusion, she says.
Case in point: Fewer self-described liberals say they're Christian (37% — down from 62% in 2007) than are religiously unaffiliated (51%), according to the Pew data.
- Self-described conservatives have seen a much smaller decline: from 89% identifying as Christian to 82%.