Fewer Black Americans Are Identifying as Christian, Pew Data Shows
New data from the Pew Research Center shows that 73% of Black Americans identified as Christian in 2024, down from 85% in 2007. The share identifying as religiously unaffiliated rose from 12% to 22% over the same period. Researchers note that most unaffiliated Black adults still believe in God.
The share of Black Americans who identify as Christian has dropped significantly over the past two decades, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
In 2007, 85% of Black Americans identified as Christian. By 2024, that figure had fallen to 73%. The share identifying as religiously unaffiliated rose from 12% to 22% over the same period.
The shift is most pronounced among younger generations. Abijah Deen, 24, from Georgia, said she deconstructed her faith during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding the church judgmental and preferring a personal relationship with God.
Courtney Fowler, a 24-year-old ministry leader in Dallas, draws a distinction between organized religion and personal faith. She points to rigid expectations within certain denominations and what she calls "church hurt" as reasons people feel they can never measure up.
Genesis Tilman, 28, from Florida, said contradictions in church teachings made it hard to stay connected. She cited examples of churches advocating kindness while not practicing it internally.
Despite the decline in formal identification, most unaffiliated Black adults retain spiritual beliefs. Among the 22% who are religiously unaffiliated, 83% say they believe in God. That is a higher percentage than unaffiliated Hispanic (69%), white (46%), or Asian (42%) adults.
Non-denominational churches are gaining ground among Black Americans who remain in the faith. Many cite a sense of freedom and a focus on personal transformation over strict rules as reasons for the preference.
J.P. Foster, pastor of a predominantly Black church in Inglewood, California, addresses these trends in his book "The Gospel and My Black Skin: Confronting the Past, Reclaiming the Future." He argues that true faith is liberatory and traces the long history of Christianity in Africa before the transatlantic slave trade.
