Fewer North Carolinians identify as religious, new survey shows

North Carolinians are less likely to identify as Christian now compared to a decade ago, per a new study.

The big picture: "This is a broad-based social change," says Alan Cooperman, the director of religion research at the Pew Research Center.

• "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," he says about the survey findings.

Driving the news: What researchers call a "secular surge" has plateaued in the last four years, however.

• Nationally, the number of people who identify as Christian had been declining for more than a decade before the downward trend starting slowing in 2019, the New York Times reports.
• After reaching a low point of 60% in 2022, the number has grown slightly in recent years.

Zoom in: Close to 70% of North Carolinians identify as Christian — more than the national average, but still down 8% from a decade ago, according to Pew's Religious Landscape Study that surveyed more than 35,000 Americans about religious and social beliefs.

• Around 26% percent of adults here are religiously unaffiliated, with 17% identifying as "nothing in particular."

Zoom out: Nationally, 29% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, up from 16% in 2007, according to Pew.

• And 7% of U.S. adults identify with other religions, up from 5% in 2007.

Between the lines: A significant portion of U.S. adults (35%) have switched religion since childhood, according to the study.

What we're hearing: "It's not surprising," Penny Edgell, professor in the sociology department at 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, according to the Pew data.

• There's been a much smaller decline among self-described conservatives: from 89% identifying as Christian to 82%.