Religion isn't important to most Bay Area residents, Pew study finds
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Californians — and San Franciscans — are more likely to identify as religiously unaffiliated 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.
What they're saying: "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 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.
Caveat: What researchers call a "secular surge" has plateaued in the last four years.
By the numbers: In California, 55% of adults identify as Christians, down from 63% in 2014 and 71% in 2007, according to Pew's Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed more than 35,000 Americans about religious and social beliefs.
- Meanwhile, 33% of California adults say they're religiously unaffiliated, up from 27% in 2014 and 21% in 2007.
- Interestingly, the share of Californians who identify with other religions — including Judaism, Islam and Buddhism — has largely remained the same across the decades at 8-9%.
Zoom in: In the San Francisco metro area, 46% of adults identify as Christian, a slight downtick from 48% in 2014. (No data for 2007 was provided.)
- 42% say they're religiously unaffiliated, compared to 35% in 2014.
- At the same time, the share of people who identify with religions other than Christianity dropped from 15% to 11% over the decade.
The intrigue: A majority (54%) of adults in the San Francisco metro area now say religion is not too/not at all important in their life.
- That stat was 40% in 2014.
Yes, but: "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.
Between the lines: A significant portion of U.S. adults (35%) have switched religion since childhood, according to the study.
Case in point: Nationwide 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%.
Zoom out: Nationally, 29% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, up from 16% in 2007, according to Pew.