For the past two decades, fewer Americans have been identifying as Christian, but recent data suggests that this trend might be starting to level off.

According to the latest report from the Pew Research Center, this decline in Christian identification could be stabilizing.

Pew Research Center’s Latest Findings

Pew’s most recent Religious Landscape Study reveals that 62% of U.S. adults now identify as Christians.

This number has remained relatively consistent since 2019, showing a marked slowdown in the previous downward trend.

While the number of Christians in the U.S. is still significantly lower than it was when the survey first began in 2007, when 78% of Americans identified as Christian, the decline seems to have slowed or even plateaued in recent years.

Catholicism’s Stability in America

One particular aspect of Pew’s findings involves Catholicism, which has shown some stability over the years.

Since 2014, the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as Catholic has remained fairly steady, with Catholics consistently making up around 19% of the Christian population in America.

Out of the 11 Pew surveys conducted since 2014, all but one have reported Catholic identification between 19% and 21%.

However, the study also noted that Catholicism has faced a significant challenge with retention.

For every person who converts to Catholicism, more than eight people leave the faith.

This shows that, while the Catholic share of Christians has remained relatively constant, many are also leaving the faith.

The Rise of the “Nones”

Another key finding from the study involves the “unaffiliated” or “nones” category, which has grown over the years.

This group, made up of people who do not identify with any religion, now accounts for 29% of U.S. adults—up from 16% in 2007.

The growth of this group, however, has slowed in recent years.

For every one person who leaves this group, nearly six new people join, suggesting ongoing but more gradual shifts in religious identification.

While the decline in Christian identification continues, the trend appears to be stabilizing, with both the Catholic and unaffiliated groups seeing some level of steadying.

Whether this marks a longer-term shift or just a pause in the trend remains to be seen.