White Christians a Minority in 19 States

Another snapshot of modern Christianity: in 19 US states, white Christians are a minority. According to a study by the Public Religion Research

Institute profiled in the VOA (Voice of America) blog, Hispanic Catholics are on the rise and white Protestants are on the decline as more and more white people identify as “no affiliation” (also known as “nones”).

“Going toward the future, the kind of 1950s way of thinking about America as Protestant, Catholic and Jewish is really no longer going to be sufficient,” said Jones. “It really is a much more complex landscape.”

Adding to that complexity is the rising number of Americans who describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated. There’s a so-called “unchurch belt” stretching from up in the Pacific Northwest and into Alaska, Oregon, and Washington State. There are so many people don’t identify with a particular religion that “religiously unaffiliated” is the largest religious group in 13 states, including Vermont and New Hampshire.

Fun fact: I am white, Hispanic, grew up Catholic, and now identify as a “none;” I used to live in New Hampshire, and now I live in Washington State. I feel so “trendy” right now.