Mar 5, 2025 - News
Fewer Oregonians identify as Christian
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With the start of Lent this week, there are fewer Oregonians observing it compared to a decade ago, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
State of pray: The number of Oregonians identifying as Christians dropped nearly 30% since 2014, a sharp decline that is happening across the country.
- During the same period, the state's religiously unaffiliated — atheists, agnostics and those identifying as "nothing in particular" — grew by roughly 39%.
- Researchers note that the trend away from religion is driven in large part by Gen Z and younger millennials.
What they're saying: "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."
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.