Last month, Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion released selected findings from the Baylor Religion Survey (1,721 respondents) in a 74 page report titled American Piety in the 21st Century: New Insights to the Depths and Complexity of Religion in the U.S. Baylor claims:

It is the most extensive and sensitive study of religion ever conducted, linking up with the pioneering surveys conducted by Rodney Stark and Charles Y. Glock in the 1960s. The field work was completed by the Gallup Organization. It plumbs all facets of American religion and spirituality in depth − nearly 400 items cover such matters as religious beliefs and practices, including religious consumerism, as well as nonstandard beliefs (astrology, “Bigfoot,” alien visitors, etc.) and practices (meditation, New Age therapies, etc).

Highlights from the report include:

• 85-90% of Americans routinely respond “yes” when asked “Do you, personally, believe in God?”
• 82% of Americans are Christians (Catholics or Protestants).
• 71.5% pray at least once a week.
• 49.2% attend church at least once a month.
• 10.8% are not affiliated with a congregation, denomination, or other religious group.
  — 62.9% of this group believes in God or some higher power.
  — 31.6% of this group prays at least occasionally.
  — 90% (roughly) of this group report never attending religious services.
  — 11.6% of this group has no doubt in the existence of God.
  — 11% of this group believes Jesus is the son of God.
  — 10.1% of this group prays daily or more.
• <5% claim a faith outside of the Judeo-Christian mainstream.
• 33.6% are Evangelical Protestant by affiliation.
• 21.1% are Mainline Protestant by affiliation.
• 5% are Black Protestant by affiliation.
• Persons aged 18-30 are three times more likely to have no religious affiliation (18.6%) than are persons aged 65 or older (5.4%).
• The Eastern United States is the only region of the country where Protestants account for less than half (44.1%) of the population. Catholics are the best represented religious tradition in this region; claiming 35.1% of the population.
• The West has the highest percentages of religiously unaffiliated people (17.6%) and people in other religious traditions (10.3%) of any U.S. region.
• 47.2% of Americans identify themselves as “Bible-believing.”
• Persons with household incomes of more than $100,000 a year are twice as likely to describe themselves as “Theologically Liberal” than are persons with household incomes of $35,000 or less a year.
• Evangelical Protestants are the most politically conservative Christian tradition.
• 31.4% of Americans believe in an Authoritarian God (God is highly involved in their daily lives and world affairs. They tend to believe that God helps them in their decision-making and is also responsible for global events such as economic upturns or tsunamis. They also tend to feel that God is quite angry and is capable of meting out punishment to those who are unfaithful or ungodly.)
• 24.4% believe in a Distant God (God is not active in the world and not especially angry either. These individuals tend towards thinking about God as a cosmic force which set the laws of nature in motion. As such, God does not “do” things in the world and does not hold clear opinions about our activities or world events.)
• 23% believe in a Benevolent God (God is very active in our daily lives. The Benevolent God is mainly a force of positive influence in the world and is less willing to condemn or punish individuals.)
• 16% believe in a Critical God (God really does not interact with the world. Nevertheless, God still observes the world and views the current state of the world unfavorably. These individuals feel that God’s displeasure will be felt in another life and that divine justice may not be of this world.)
• 5.2% are atheists.
• There is a strong gender effect in belief in God. Women tend towards very engaged images of God (Authoritarian God & Benevolent God) while men tend towards less engaged images (Distant God) and are more likely to be atheists.
• 52.8% of African-Americans believe in an Authoritarian God. And no African-Americans from the sample purported to be atheists.
• Individuals with lower educations and lower incomes tend towards more engaged images of God (Authoritarian God & Benevolent God). Those with college degrees and who earn more than $100,000 disproportionately believe in a Distant God or are atheists.
• Easterners disproportionately tend towards belief in a Critical God. Southerners tend towards an Authoritarian God. Midwesterners tend towards a Benevolent God and West Coasters tend towards belief in a Distant God.
• Individuals with more engaged images of God (Authoritarian God & Benevolent God) are more likely to attend church weekly and pray several times a day.
• Catholics and Mainline Protestants tend towards more belief in a more Distant God.
• Evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants tend towards belief in a more Authoritarian God.
• Believers in a Distant God (0.3%) are 72 times less likely to believe converting others is a very important part of being a good person than those who believe in an Authoritarian God (21.5%).
• Belief in the paranormal declines with increasing church attendance.

There are plenty of more interesting statistics and even visual aids in the report for those of you with the time and interest to peruse it.

 Special thanks to Christianity Today for highlighting the research.