NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD

FOR RELEASE APRIL 12, 2016

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:

Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research

Gregory A. Smith, Associate Director, Research
Besheer Mohamed, Senior Researcher
Anna Schiller, Communications Manager
202.419.4372
www.pewresearch.org

RECOMMENDED CITATION: Pew Research Center, April 12, 2016, “Religion in Everyday Life”
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About Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes
and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts
public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social
science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and
technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social
and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew
Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

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Acknowledgments
This report, which is part of Pew Research Center’s U.S. Religious Landscape Study, was made
possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the project from Lilly
Endowment Inc. The study is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following
individuals.

Primary Researchers
Gregory A. Smith, Associate Director, Research Besheer Mohamed, Senior Researcher
Elizabeth Podrebarac Sciupac, Research Associate

Research Team
Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research Jessica Hamar Martínez, Senior Researcher
Becka A. Alper, Research Associate Claire Gecewicz, Research Assistant

Editorial and Graphic Design

Sandra Stencel, Associate Director, Editorial Michael Lipka, Editor
Michael Keegan, Information Graphics Designer Aleksandra Sandstrom, Copy Editor

Communications and Web Publishing

Anna Schiller, Communications Manager Travis Mitchell, Digital Producer
Stefan S. Cornibert, Communications Associate

Survey Methods Team

Courtney Kennedy, Director of Survey Research Andrew Mercer, Research Methodologist
Kyley McGeeney, Research Methodologist

Others at Pew Research Center who contributed to this report include President Michael Dimock
and Vice President of Research Claudia Deane.

John C. Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron,
served as a senior adviser on the U.S. Religious Landscape Studies, providing valuable advice on
the survey questionnaires, categorization of respondents and drafts of the reports. In addition,
Nancy T. Ammerman, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University, provided valuable
feedback on the draft of this report.

© Pew Research Center 2016

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Table of Contents
Overview 4
1. Highly religious people not distinctive in all aspects of everyday life 15
2. Essentials of Christian identity vary by level of religiosity;
many ‘nones’ say honesty vital to being a moral person 32
3. Few Americans turn to religious leaders for advice when making major life decisions 44
Methodology 48
Detailed tables 51
Topline 61

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A new Pew Research Center study of the ways

religion influences the daily lives of Americans
finds that people who are highly religious are
more engaged with their extended families, more
likely to volunteer, more involved in their
communities and generally happier with the way
things are going in their lives.

For example, nearly half of highly religious

Americans – defined as those who say they pray
every day and attend religious services each week
– gather with extended family at least once or
twice a month.1 By comparison, just three-in-ten
Americans who are less religious gather as
frequently with their extended families. Roughly
two-thirds of highly religious adults (65%) say
they have donated money, time or goods to help
the poor in the past week, compared with 41%
who are less religious. And 40% of highly
religious U.S. adults describe themselves as “very
happy,” compared with 29% of those who are
less religious.

1 There are many possible ways to define “highly religious.” For example, Pew Research Center used an index of four measures (frequency of
prayer, worship service attendance, belief in God and importance of religion) to create a “highly religious” category in a recently published
interactive tool titled “How religious is your state?” The definition of “highly religious” in this report is based on two of these standard
measures of religiosity – self-reported rates of prayer and worship service attendance – that were asked of all respondents in a supplemental
survey to the U.S. Religious Landscape Study, the main source of data for this report.

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These differences are found not only in the U.S.

adult population as a whole but also within a
variety of religious traditions (such as between
Catholics who are highly religious and those who
are less religious), and they persist even when
controlling for other factors, including age,
income, education, geographic region of
residence, marital status and parental status.

However, in several other areas of day-to-day life

– including interpersonal interactions, attention
to health and fitness, and social and
environmental consciousness – Pew Research
Center surveys find that people who pray every
day and regularly attend religious services
appear to be very similar to those who are not as
religious.2

For instance, highly religious people are about as

likely as other Americans to say they lost their
temper recently, and they are only marginally
less likely to say they told a white lie in the past
week. When it comes to diet and exercise, highly
religious Americans are no less likely to have
overeaten in the past week, and they are no more
likely to say they exercise regularly. Highly
religious people also are no more likely than
other Americans to recycle their household
waste. And when making decisions about what
goods and services to buy, they are no more

2 Some previous studies have found that highly religious Americans

Are more likely to volunteer not only for religious causes but also for
secular ones. See Putnam, Robert D. and David E. Campbell. 2010.
“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.” Chapter 13,
pages 443-454. Some prior studies also have found linkages between
religious behavior and better health outcomes, though the reasons for
this are debated. See, for example, Blasi, Anthony J. ed. 2011.
“Toward a Sociological Theory of Religion and Health.”

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inclined to consider the manufacturers’ environmental records or whether companies pay

employees a fair wage.

These are among the latest findings of Pew Research Center’s U.S. Religious Landscape Study. The
study and this report were made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support
for the project from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Two previous reports on the Landscape Study, based on a 2014 telephone survey of more than
35,000 adults, examined the changing religious composition of the U.S. public and described the
religious beliefs, practices and experiences of Americans. This new report also draws on the
national telephone survey but is based primarily on a supplemental survey among 3,278
participants in the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel, a nationally representative
group of randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online and by mail. The supplemental survey was
designed to go beyond traditional measures of religious behavior – such as worship service
attendance, prayer and belief in God – to examine the ways people exhibit (or do not exhibit) their
religious beliefs, values and connections in their day-to-day lives.3

3 In recent years, religious leaders across a wide range of faiths have urged followers to put their religious beliefs into practice through
everyday behaviors such as consumer choices, environmentalism, hospitality, charity, honesty, forgiveness and healthy living. See, for
example, Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si.” Also see Bass, Dorothy C. ed. 2010. “Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life
for a Searching People.” However, the underlying question in this report is not normative – e.g., how religious people should behave in daily
life – but sociological: Do Americans who are highly religious by conventional measures (prayer and worship service attendance) also have
different beliefs or behave differently from less religious Americans in other areas of life?

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To help explore this question, the survey asked

U.S. adults whether each of a series of 16 beliefs
and behaviors is “essential,” “important but not
essential,” or “not important” to what their
religion means to them, personally.

Among Christians, believing in God tops the list,

with fully 86% saying belief in God is “essential”
to their Christian identity. In addition, roughly
seven-in-ten Christians say being grateful for
what they have (71%), forgiving those who have
wronged them (69%) and always being honest
(67%) are essential to being Christian. Far fewer
say that attending religious services (35%),
dressing modestly (26%), working to protect the
environment (22%) or resting on the Sabbath
(18%) are essential to what being Christian
means to them, personally.

The survey posed similar questions to members

of non-Christian faiths and religiously
unaffiliated Americans (sometimes called
religious “nones”), asking whether various
behaviors are essential to “what being a moral
person means to you.”4 Among the unaffiliated,
honesty (58%) and gratitude (53%) are the
attributes most commonly seen as essential to
being a moral person. (Findings about non-
Christians are discussed in more detail at the end
of Chapter 2.)

4 Ideally, the survey would have asked about the “essentials” of

religious identity across a wider range of religious groups. For
example, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist respondents would have
been asked if these behaviors are essential to what being Jewish,
Muslim and Buddhist means to them. Because some respondents
completed the survey by mail in a paper-and-pencil format, however,
it was not feasible to program the questionnaire with language
specific to more than a few religious groups.

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The survey shows a clear link between what people see as essential to their faith and their self-
reported day-to-day behavior. Simply put, those who believe that behaving in a particular way or
performing certain actions are key elements of their faith are much more likely to say they actually
perform those actions on a regular basis.

For example, among Christians who say that working to help the poor is essential to what being
Christian means to them, about six-in-ten say they donated time, money or goods to help the poor
in the past week. By comparison, fewer Christians who do not see helping the poor as central to
their religious identity say they worked to help the poor during the previous week (42%).

The same pattern is seen in the survey’s questions about interpersonal interactions, health and
social consciousness. Relatively few Christians see living a healthy lifestyle, buying from
companies that pay fair wages or protecting the environment as key elements of their faith. But
those who do see these things as essential to what it means to be a Christian are more likely than
others to say they live a healthy lifestyle (by exercising, for example), consider how a company
treats its employees and the environment when making purchasing decisions, or attempt to recycle
or reduce waste as much as possible.

Of course, survey data like these cannot prove that believing certain actions are obligatory for
Christians actually causes Christians to behave in particular ways. The causal arrow could point in
the other direction: It may be easier for those who regularly engage in particular behaviors to cite
those behaviors as essential to their faith. Conversely, it may be harder for those who do not
regularly engage in particular activities (such as helping the poor) to describe those activities as
essential to their faith. Nevertheless, the survey data suggest that Christians are more likely to live
healthy lives, work on behalf of the poor and behave in environmentally conscious ways if they
consider these things essential to what it means to be a Christian.

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When asked where they look for guidance when

making major life decisions, Americans overall
say they rely more on their own research than on
direction from experts. Fully eight-in-ten
Americans say they rely “a lot” on their own
research when making major decisions. By
comparison, 25% say they rely a lot on the advice
of professional experts, and just 15% rely heavily
on advice from religious leaders.

But while relatively few people look to religious

leaders for guidance on major decisions, many
Americans do turn to prayer when faced with
important choices. Indeed, among those who are
highly religious, nearly nine-in-ten (86%) say
they rely “a lot” on prayer and personal religious
reflection when making major life decisions,
which exceeds the share of the highly religious
who say they rely a lot on their own research.

Other key findings in this report include:

 Three-quarters of adults – including 96% of

members of historically black Protestant
churches and 93% of evangelical Protestants
– say they thanked God for something in the
past week. And two-thirds, including 91% of
those in the historically black Protestant
tradition and 87% of evangelicals, say they
asked God for help during the past week. Fewer than one-in-ten adults (8%) say they got angry
with God in the past week. (For more details on how Americans say they relate to God, see
Chapter 1.)

 One-third of religiously unaffiliated Americans say they thanked God for something in the past
week, and one-in-four have asked God for help in the past week. (For more details, see Chapter
1.)

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 Nearly half of Americans (46%) say they talk with their immediate families about religion at
least once or twice a month. About a quarter (27%) say they talk about religion at least once a
month with their extended families, and 33% say they discuss religion as often with people
outside their families. Having regular conversations about religion is most common among
evangelicals and people who belong to churches in the historically black Protestant tradition.
By contrast, relatively few religious “nones” say they discuss religion with any regularity. (For
more details on how often Americans talk about religion, see Chapter 1.)

 One-third of American adults (33%) say they volunteered in the past week. This includes 10%
who say they volunteered mainly through a church or religious organization and 22% who say
their volunteering was not done through a religious organization. 5 (For more details on
volunteering, see Chapter 1.)

 Three-in-ten adults say they meditated in the past week to help cope with stress. Regularly
using meditation to cope with stress is more common among highly religious people than
among those who are less religious (42% vs. 26%). (For more details on meditation and stress,
see Chapter 1.)

 Nine-in-ten adults say the quality of a product is a “major factor” they take into account when
making purchasing decisions, and three-quarters focus on the price. Far fewer – only about
one-quarter of adults – say a company’s environmental responsibility (26%) or whether it pays
employees a fair wage (26%) are major factors in their purchasing decisions. Highly religious
adults are no more or less likely than those who are less religious to say they consider a
company’s environmental record and fair wage practices in making purchasing decisions. (For
more details on how Americans make purchasing decisions, see Chapter 1.)

 Three-quarters of Catholics say they look to their own conscience “a great deal” for guidance
on difficult moral questions. Far fewer Catholics say they look a great deal to the Catholic
Church’s teachings (21%), the Bible (15%) or the pope (11%) for guidance on difficult moral
questions. (For more details, see Chapter 3.)

 One-quarter of Christians say dressing modestly is essential to what being Christian means to
them, and an additional four-in-ten say it is “important, but not essential.” (For more details,
see Chapter 2.)

5Readers should note that surveys may overstate the extent to which respondents engage in volunteering, since people who participate in
activities such as volunteering also are more likely to participate in surveys. For more details, see "The challenges of polling when fewer
people are available to be polled.”

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 When asked to describe, in their own words, what being a “moral person” means to them, 23%
of religious “nones” cite the golden rule or being kind to others, 15% mention being a good
person and 12% mention being tolerant and respectful of others. (For more details, see Chapter
2.)

The remainder of this report explores these and other findings in greater depth. Chapter 1 provides
greater detail on how Americans from various religious backgrounds say they live their day-to-day
lives. Chapter 2 examines the essentials of religious and moral identity – what do Christians see as
“essential” to what it means to be a Christian, and what do members of non-Christian faiths and
religious “nones” see as essential to being a moral person? Chapter 3 reports on where members of
various religious groups say they look for guidance when making major life decisions or thinking
about tough moral questions.

On most of these questions, the report compares highly religious Americans with those who are
less religious and also looks at differences among members of a variety of religious groups. For
comparisons of highly religious people with those who are less religious within particular religious
groups (e.g., highly religious Catholics vs. less religious Catholics), see the detailed tables at the
back of the report.

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Profile of those who are highly religious, less religious

In this report, “highly religious”
respondents are defined as those
Profile of ‘highly religious’ respondents
who say they pray daily and attend
Highly Not highly
religious services at least once a religious religious
week. Overall, 30% of U.S. adults % %
are highly religious by this Religion very important 91 31
definition, while 70% are not.6 Religion less important 9 69
100 100
As this report highlights, these % saying ___ is "essential" to what being
religious/moral person means to them
standard measures of traditional
Believing in God 96 57
religious practice do not capture Praying regularly 88 35
the full breadth of what it means to Reading Bible/other religious materials 70 18
be religious; many respondents Attending religious services 60 14
also say attributes such as Helping in congregation 47 12
gratitude, forgiveness and honesty Resting on Sabbath 29 9
are essential to what being
Religious affiliation
religious means to them, Evangelical Protestant 49 19
personally. Nevertheless, these two Mainline Protestant 14 17
indicators (prayer and religious Historically black Protestant tradition 9 5
attendance) are closely related to a Catholic 17 21
variety of other measures of Other Christian 6 2
religious commitment. Non-Christian faith 2 7
Unaffiliated 2 27
For example, nine-in-ten people Don’t know/refused * 1
who are categorized as highly 100 100
religious (91%) say religion is very Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend
important in their lives, and nearly religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
all the rest (7%) say religion is at religious.”

least somewhat important to them. Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014. Results for the question on importance of religion come from a previous wave of
By contrast, only three-in-ten the American Trends Panel series of surveys.
people who are classified as not
“Religion in Everyday Life”
highly religious (31%) say religion is
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
very important in their lives, and
most of the rest (38%) say religion
is “not too” or “not at all” important to them.7

6 Estimates of the highly religious share of the population come from the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study national telephone survey.
Among respondents in the supplemental survey, 28% are highly religious by the definition employed here, and 72% are not.
7 The question asking respondents how important religion is in their lives was asked in a previous wave of the American Trends Panel series of

surveys; as a result, not everyone in the supplemental survey to the Religious Landscape Study was asked this question. For more details
about the American Trends Panel, see the Methodology.

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Nearly all people who are highly

religious say believing in God is Demographic profile of ‘highly religious’ respondents
essential to their religious identity Highly Not highly
(96%), compared with only 57% of religious religious
people who are not highly religious. % %
White 64 68
Similarly, fully seven-in-ten people
Black 17 10
who are highly religious say reading
Hispanic 11 14
the Bible or other religious
Other race 7 8
materials is essential to their
100 100
religious identity; only 18% of those
who are not highly religious say this Male 38 51
Female 62 49
is vital to their religious identity or
100 100
to what being a moral person
means to them. Ages 18-29 14 26
30-49 31 33
As might be expected, the religious 50-64 29 27
makeup of the highly religious and 65+ 26 14
less religious also are quite 100 100
distinct. Fully half of highly religious College graduate 27 28
American adults (49%) identify with Some college 31 33
evangelical Protestant High school or less 43 39
denominations, compared with 100 100
about one-in-five (19%) of those
Republican/lean Republican 51 37
who are not highly religious. And Democrat/lean Democratic 36 52
while only a handful of highly Ind./other - no preference 13 11
religious people are religiously 100 100
unaffiliated, about a quarter of less
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend
religious respondents (27%) religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
identify as atheist, agnostic or religious.” Results for race, age and education are repercentaged to exclude nonresponse.
“nothing in particular.” Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014.
There also are important “Religion in Everyday Life”
demographic differences between PEW RESEARCH CENTER
the highly religious and those who
are less religious. Highly religious
people are more likely to be women than men (62% vs. 38%).8 They also are more likely to align with the
Republican Party than the Democratic Party, and they are somewhat older, on average, than those who are less
religious. However, there are few differences by level of education.

If respondents who seldom or never pray and seldom or never attend religious services are analyzed separately
from others who are “not highly religious,” many of these differences are even larger.

8 For more on the link between gender and religiosity, see Pew Research Center’s report “The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World.”

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1. Highly religious people not distinctive in all aspects of

everyday life
Highly religious people are distinctive in their day-to-day behaviors in several key ways: They are
more engaged with their families, more involved in their communities and more likely to report
being happy with the way things are going in their lives.

In other ways, however, there is little discernible difference in the way highly religious people and
those who are less religious live their everyday lives. There is little indication, for instance, that
highly religious people are more attentive to their health (e.g., by eating right and exercising
regularly) or more socially conscious about the environment or about trying to buy products from
companies that pay employees a fair wage. And in their interpersonal interactions, highly religious
people are no less likely than others to lose their temper and only slightly less likely to tell a white
lie.

The remainder of this chapter explores these topics in more detail. It also includes an assessment
of how Americans relate to God on a day-to-day basis (e.g., by thanking God, asking God for
guidance or help, or becoming angry with God).

The chapter reports data on these behaviors for Americans overall – sorted by those who are
highly religious and those who are not – and for a variety of religious groups (including adherents
who are highly religious and less so). For differences within particular religious groups by level of
religiosity, see the detailed tables at the end of this report.

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Highly religious Americans –

those who pray every day and Americans who are not highly religious are twice as
attend religious services at likely to seldom/never attend family gatherings
least once a week – gather How often, if ever, do you attend a gathering with extended family?
more often with their extended
At least once or A few times Seldom/
families than less religious twice a month a year never DK/ref.
Americans do. About half of % % % %
those who are highly religious Total 35 38 27 *=100
(47%) say they attend a Among those who are …
gathering with extended family Highly religious 47 36 16 1
at least once or twice a month, Not highly religious 30 39 31 *
compared with 30% of those All affiliated 38 38 24 *
who are less religious. At the Christian 38 38 24 1
same time, those who are not Protestant 36 38 25 1
highly religious (by the Evangelical 40 35 24 1

definition used in the report) Mainline 32 42 26 *

Historically black 32 40 28 0
are roughly twice as likely as
Catholic 42 38 20 0
those who are highly religious
Non-Christian faiths 34 41 25 0
to say they “seldom” or “never”
Jewish 38 43 19 0
gather with their extended Unaffiliated 24 39 37 *
families; 31% of less religious Atheist/agnostic 20 44 36 0
people say this, compared with Nothing in particular 26 36 37 *
16% of those who are highly Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
religious. attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the
supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to
analyze them separately.
These differences persist even
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
after taking into account Sept. 3, 2014.
factors such as marital status “Religion in Everyday Life”
and presence of minor children PEW RESEARCH CENTER
in the home.

There could be many reasons for the association between religion and family gatherings. In some
cases, the links may be clear and direct, such as when extended families gather for religious
holidays or religious occasions such as baptisms or confirmations. But there also may be links that
are less obvious, such as the possibility that people who enjoy getting together with relatives are

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generally outgoing and sociable, and therefore perhaps also more likely to enjoy going to religious
services.

The survey also looks at differences among religious groups.9 It finds that Catholics (42%), Jews
(38%) and Protestants (36%) all are more likely to say they gather at least once or twice a month
with extended family than are religiously unaffiliated Americans (24%). And, conversely, religious
“nones” are more likely than religiously affiliated Americans, as a whole, to say they seldom or
never attend extended family gatherings (37% vs. 24%). These differences between religious
groups are apparent even after controlling for other factors – such as age, education, race and
gender – that also may be correlated with gathering with extended family.

9 Members of some religious groups, such as evangelical Protestants, are more likely to be highly religious, while religiously unaffiliated
Americans are more likely to be less religious. But all religious groups (including religious “nones”) have some members who are categorized
as highly religious and some who are less religious. Totals for specific religious groups in this report include all self-identified members of each
group, regardless of their level of religiosity. The detailed tables at the back of the report provide data reported by level of religiosity within
those groups from which a sufficiently large number of interviews were obtained to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious
subsamples (e.g., highly religious evangelical Protestants vs. less religious evangelical Protestants).

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Roughly three-quarters of
those who are highly religious Highly religious Americans are more satisfied with
(74%) say they are “very their family life
satisfied” with their family Are you satisfied or dissatisfied, on the whole, with your family life?
life, compared with two-thirds Don’t
of those who are less religious Very Somewhat Somewhat Very know/
satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied refused
(67%). % % % % %
Total 69 21 5 3 2=100
Looking at the data by
Among those who are …
religious group, the survey Highly religious 74 18 4 2 2
finds Christians are modestly Not highly religious 67 22 5 3 2
more likely than those from
All affiliated 70 20 5 3 2
non-Christian faiths and the Christian 70 20 5 3 2
religiously unaffiliated to say Protestant 70 20 5 3 2
they are very satisfied with Evangelical 70 19 5 3 2
their family life (70% vs. 64% Mainline 72 20 4 2 2
and 65%, respectively). Historically black 63 25 6 4 3
Members of churches in the Catholic 72 19 4 2 3

historically black Protestant Non-Christian faiths 64 23 5 4 3

Jewish 68 22 5 4 1
tradition are somewhat less
Unaffiliated 65 23 6 3 2
satisfied with their family life
Atheist/agnostic 64 26 6 3 2
compared with people in Nothing in particular 66 22 6 3 2
other Christian traditions.
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend
religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
religious.” See topline for results for Orthodox Christians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
These patterns partly reflect Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus on this question.
socioeconomic factors; adults Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014.
who are married are more “Religion in Everyday Life”
likely than unmarried adults PEW RESEARCH CENTER
to say they are very satisfied
with their family life (80% vs
59%), and high-income earners are more likely than lower-income earners to say they are very
satisfied with their family life. Members of churches in the historically black Protestant tradition
are less likely than other Christians to be married or to report high incomes.10 However, even after
controlling for differences such as income and marital status, Christians remain more satisfied
with their family lives than those who are religiously unaffiliated.

10For more on demographic differences among religious groups, see the 2015 Pew Research Center report “America’s Changing Religious
Landscape.”

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When commenting on life more generally,

Highly religious most likely to report
Americans who are highly religious are more
being ‘very happy’
likely than those who are less religious to
Generally, how would you say things are these days in
report being very happy in their lives (40% vs. your life? Would you say that you are …
29%). 11 Don’t
Very Pretty Not too know/
happy happy happy refused
Differences among people from various % % % %
religious traditions are modest on this Total 32 52 14 2=100
question. One-third of Protestants say they are
Among those who are …
“very happy,” as do 35% of Catholics and 29% Highly religious 40 46 12 2
of those who identify with non-Christian faiths Not highly religious 29 54 14 2
or with no religion. Within Christian groups,
All affiliated 33 50 14 2
those who are highly religious express more
Christian 34 50 14 2
happiness with the way things are going in Protestant 33 51 14 2
their lives than do those who are less religious. Evangelical 35 49 14 2
(See detailed tables at the back of this report.) Mainline 32 53 13 2
Historically black 33 50 15 2
Catholic 35 47 15 3
Non-Christian faiths 29 56 13 2
Jewish 33 52 13 2
Unaffiliated 29 56 13 2
Atheist/agnostic 26 61 11 1
Nothing in particular 30 54 14 2

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say

they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All
other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for
results for Orthodox Christians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus on this question.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-
Sept. 30, 2014.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
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11For background, see Lim, Chaeyoon and Robert D. Putnam. 2010. "Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction." American Sociological
Review.

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Highly religious people are much more likely

than those who are less religious to discuss
religion regularly – both with family members Most people who are highly religious
and with people outside their family.
often discuss religion with family
% of each group who talk about religion at least once or
twice a month with …
Evangelical Protestants and members of
People
historically black Protestant churches are more Immediate Extended outside
family family their family
likely to talk about religion on a regular basis % % %
than are people from other religious traditions. Total 46 27 33
And religious “nones” are far less likely than
Among those who are …
those who identify with a faith to say they Highly religious 81 55 68
discuss religion with any regularity. Not highly religious 33 17 20

All affiliated 55 33 39
Christian 55 33 40
Protestant 60 37 45
Evangelical 70 44 55
Mainline 42 21 27
Historically black 61 51 49
Catholic 42 22 24
Non-Christian faiths 48 27 30
Jewish 47 30 27
Unaffiliated 16 6 12
Atheist/agnostic 15 5 14
Nothing in particular 16 6 10
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say
they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week.
All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for
smaller religious groups are not shown because the supplemental
survey does not include enough interviews with members of these
groups to analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey
conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.

“Religion in Everyday Life”

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When someone disagrees with

them about religion, most Majorities agree to disagree when discussing religion
Americans say the best thing What do you personally think is the best thing to do when someone disagrees
to do is to try to understand with you about religion?
the other person’s point of Try to
understand, Avoid
view and agree to disagree. Persuade agree to discussing
them disagree religion DK/ref.
But about one-in-four (27%) % % % %
say the best thing to do is Total 5 67 27 1=100
avoid discussing religion with
Among those who are …
those who disagree with them.
Highly religious 11 74 15 *
A scant 5% say the best course Not highly religious 3 64 31 1
is to try to persuade the other
All affiliated 6 69 24 1
person to change his or her
Christian 6 69 24 1
mind. Protestant 8 70 21 1
Evangelical 10 70 18 1
Adults who are highly Mainline 5 70 25 *
religious themselves are Historically black 10 68 21 1
somewhat more inclined to Catholic 2 66 31 1
say the ideal approach when Non-Christian faiths 3 67 29 1

discussing religion is to try to Jewish 1 57 41 0

Unaffiliated 3 59 38 *
persuade the other person of
Atheist/agnostic 4 67 30 0
the correctness of one’s own
Nothing in particular 2 54 44 *
point of view. And those who
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend
are less religious are about religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
twice as likely as highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the supplemental
survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to analyze them
religious Americans to say the separately.
best course is to avoid Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014.
discussing religion altogether
“Religion in Everyday Life”
(31% vs. 15%). Still, large
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majorities in both groups say
the best approach is to agree
to disagree.

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Adults who are highly religious are more likely than those who are less religious to say they did
volunteer work in the last seven days (45% vs. 28%). Follow-up questions suggest this difference is
driven primarily by volunteering through houses of worship.12 Highly religious Americans are
more than five times as likely as those who are less religious to say they recently volunteered
“mainly through a church or other religious organization” (23% vs. 4%). Similar shares of highly
religious and less religious adults say they volunteered through an institution other than a church
or house of worship.

12For more on the link between religion and volunteering, see, for example, Merino, Stephen M. 2013. “Religious Social Networks and
Volunteering: Examining Recruitment Via Close Ties.” Review of Religious Research. Readers should also note that surveys may overstate the
extent to which respondents engage in volunteering, since people who participate in activities such as volunteering also are more likely to
participate in surveys. As a result, this section focuses primarily on comparisons between groups rather than on the sample’s overall rate of
volunteering. For more details, see "The challenges of polling when fewer people are available to be polled.”

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Highly religious most likely to have volunteered in past week

Mainly No, did not
Volunteered in through Not mainly Other/ volunteer in past Don’t know
past week church through church don’t know week /refused
% % % % % %
Total 33 10 22 1 67 *=100

Among those who are …

Highly religious 45 23 20 2 55 *
Not highly religious 28 4 23 * 72 *

All affiliated 35 12 22 1 65 *
Christian 34 12 21 1 65 *
Protestant 36 13 22 1 64 *
Evangelical 37 15 21 1 63 *
Mainline 35 10 24 1 65 *
Historically black 32 11 20 1 68 *
Catholic 29 9 20 1 71 *
Non-Christian faiths 36 6 29 1 64 *
Jewish 39 7 31 1 61 *
Unaffiliated 27 2 24 * 73 *
Atheist/agnostic 28 1 27 * 72 *
Nothing in particular 26 3 23 * 74 *

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other
respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for results for Orthodox Christians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims,
Buddhists and Hindus on this question.

Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014. Figures may not add to 100% and nested figures may not
add to subtotals indicated due to rounding.
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About two-thirds of highly religious adults say they donated

Highly religious most likely
time, money or goods to help the poor in the past week (65%).
to have donated to poor in
Fewer of those who are not highly religious say the same (41%). past week
Christians and Jews are more likely than religious “nones” to
In the past week, did you donate
say they donated money, goods or time to help the poor and money, time or goods to help the
needy in the given time frame. These differences between poor?
Christians and Jews on the one hand and religious “nones” on
the other persist even after taking into account other potential Yes
explanatory variables, such as income, age and education. %
Total 48

Among those who are …

Highly religious 65
Not highly religious 41

All affiliated 52
Christian 52
Protestant 53
Evangelical 55
Mainline 49
Historically black 52
Catholic 49
Non-Christian faiths 56
Jewish 54
Unaffiliated 31
Atheist/agnostic 28
Nothing in particular 34
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are
defined as those who say they pray daily and
attend religious services at least once a
week. All other respondents are coded as
“not highly religious.” Results for smaller
religious groups are not shown because the
supplemental survey does not include
enough interviews with members of these
groups to analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape
Study supplemental survey conducted Aug.
11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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There is only a modest difference between those who are highly religious and those who are not in
terms of the shares who say they have told a
white lie recently, and no significant difference More than four-in-ten say they told white
in the shares who have lost their temper. About lie, lost temper in past week
four-in-ten highly religious adults (39%) and % in each group who say they have __ in the past week
45% of those who are not highly religious say
Told a Lost their
they told a white lie in the past week. And 41% white lie temper
of highly religious people say they lost their % %
Total 43 43
temper recently, as did 43% of those who are
not highly religious. Among those who are …
Highly religious 39 41
Not highly religious 45 43
About six-in-ten adults who belong to a non-
Christian faith (58%) and 49% of religious All affiliated 41 43
“nones” say they told a white lie in the past Christian 40 43

week. Among Christians, 40% say they fibbed Protestant 39 42

Evangelical 38 44
recently. Christians and religious “nones” are
Mainline 38 35
about equally likely to say they lost their
Historically black 45 52
temper in the past week.
Catholic 44 43
Non-Christian faiths 58 47
Jewish 55 52
Unaffiliated 49 42
Atheist/agnostic 54 36
Nothing in particular 47 45

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say

they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All
other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for
smaller religious groups are not shown because the supplemental
survey does not include enough interviews with members of these
groups to analyze them separately.

Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey

conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Religion has only a small

impact on the way Americans
perceive their health,
Few religious differences in ratings of health
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your health?
according to the survey. About
half or more of those who are Don’t
Very Somewhat Somewhat Very know/
highly religious (54%) and satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied refused
those who are not (51%) say % % % % %
Total 52 30 10 6 2=100
they are “very satisfied” with
their health. Similar shares of Among those who are …
Christians (51%), members of Highly religious 54 28 9 6 2
Not highly religious 51 31 10 6 2
non-Christian faiths (51%)
and the religiously unaffiliated All affiliated 51 30 10 7 2
(53%) say they are very Christian 51 30 10 7 2

satisfied with their health.13 Protestant 51 30 10 7 2

Evangelical 50 30 11 8 2
Mainline 52 31 9 6 2
Historically black 52 28 11 7 2
Catholic 53 29 9 5 3
Non-Christian faiths 51 33 10 5 1
Jewish 50 33 10 6 1
Unaffiliated 53 31 9 5 2
Atheist/agnostic 53 32 8 5 1
Nothing in particular 53 30 10 5 2

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend
religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
religious.” See topline for results for Orthodox Christians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus on this question.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
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13There is a substantial body of research exploring the relationships between religion and health. See, for example, Blasi, Anthony J. ed.
2011. “Toward a Sociological Theory of Religion and Health.”

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Similarly, there is virtually no

difference in the self-reported Few religious differences in exercise habits
frequency of exercise between How many times did you exercise in the past week?
adults who are highly religious Did not get Five or
and those who are not. About exercise in Once or Three or more DK/
past week twice four times times refused
three-in-ten in each group say % % % % %
they did not exercise in the past Total 29 27 23 20 1=100
week, while roughly half in Among those who are …
each group say they exercised Highly religious 31 23 25 19 2
somewhere between one and Not highly religious 28 28 23 21 1
four times. Among both highly All affiliated 30 26 24 19 1
religious and less religious Christian 31 25 23 19 1
adults, about one-in-five report Protestant 30 25 24 19 1
exercising five times or more Evangelical 31 26 24 18 1
within the past seven days. Mainline 32 24 24 20 1
Historically black 26 22 26 22 3
Catholic 30 26 21 21 2
There is little variability across
Non-Christian faiths 21 31 27 20 1
religious traditions regarding
Jewish 24 29 25 21 1
exercise frequency.
Unaffiliated 25 29 22 24 *
Atheist/agnostic 26 28 21 25 0
Nothing in particular 24 29 22 24 *

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the
supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to
analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
Sept. 3, 2014.
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Highly religious people are more inclined than

Many Americans overeat, fewer
those who are less religious to meditate as a
meditate to cope with stress
coping mechanism for stress (42% vs. 26%).
% of each group who say they have, in the past week …
The survey also shows that Christians,
especially those in the historically black Meditated to Ate too
cope with stress much
Protestant tradition, are more likely than Jews % %
and religious “nones” to turn to meditation to Total 30 58
cope with stress.
Among those who are …
Highly religious 42 58
There is little connection between religion and Not highly religious 26 58
reported levels of overeating. Nearly six-in-ten
All affiliated 32 58
highly religious adults (58%) say they overate
Christian 32 58
recently, identical to the share of less religious Protestant 32 57
adults who say the same. Similarly, there are Evangelical 32 59
few differences on this question among Mainline 29 58
respondents from various religious traditions. Historically black 39 44
Catholic 31 58
Non-Christian faiths 34 62
Jewish 19 65
Unaffiliated 24 59
Atheist/agnostic 17 60
Nothing in particular 27 59
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say
they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All
other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for
smaller religious groups are not shown because the supplemental
survey does not include enough interviews with members of these
groups to analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey
conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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There are virtually no

differences in self-reported ‘Nones’ more likely than Christians to say they
recycling practices between recycle, reduce waste whenever possible
those who are highly religious How often do you recycle or reduce waste in order to protect the
and those who are not. Among environment?
both the highly religious and
Whenever Most of DK/
less religious, roughly three- possible the time Occasionally Never refused
quarters say they recycle either % % % % %
Total 46 30 19 4 *=100
“whenever possible” or “most
of the time.” About one-in-five Among those who are …
say they recycle only Highly religious 47 28 20 4 1

“occasionally,” and just 4% say Not highly religious 46 31 19 4 0

they “never” make such efforts. All affiliated 44 31 20 4 *

Christian 44 31 20 4 *
Non-Christians are slightly Protestant 43 31 20 5 *
Evangelical 42 30 22 5 *
more likely than Christians to
Mainline 44 33 17 5 1
say they do as much as they can
Historically black 43 27 22 8 0
to recycle and reduce waste;
Catholic 46 33 18 3 1
51% of non-Christians say they Non-Christian faiths 51 29 15 4 0
recycle and reduce waste Jewish 52 26 22 0 0
whenever possible, compared Unaffiliated 51 28 18 3 0
with 44% of Christians. This Atheist/agnostic 53 29 18 1 0
difference remains even after Nothing in particular 51 27 17 5 0
controlling for such factors as Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
age, income and education. highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the
supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to
analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
Sept. 3, 2014.
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There is very little connection

Quality and cost both major factors in purchasing
between religion and the way
decisions; eco-friendly and fair wage practices less so
Americans say they make
% of each group who say that ___ is a major factor when making
purchasing decisions. Highly purchasing decisions
religious adults are no more Company’s Whether
likely than those who are less Quality of Cost of environmental company pays
product product responsibility fair wage
religious to say they consider a % % % %
company’s environmental Total 90 75 26 26
record or its treatment of its Among those who are …
employees when making Highly religious 89 78 26 28
purchasing decisions. And Not highly religious 90 74 27 26
people from all religious All affiliated 90 76 26 26
backgrounds prioritize quality Christian 90 77 26 26
and price over environmental Protestant 90 77 25 25
concerns and employee wages Evangelical 91 80 20 22
when deciding what products Mainline 89 75 29 25

to buy. Historically black 85 76 34 36

Catholic 91 74 29 28
Non-Christian faiths 85 74 30 28
Jewish 86 77 21 19
Unaffiliated 92 71 28 29
Atheist/agnostic 95 70 30 26
Nothing in particular 89 71 27 30
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the
supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to
analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
Sept. 3, 2014.
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Virtually all adults in the survey who are highly

religious say they have thanked God for Evangelicals, black Protestants interact
something (99%) and asked God for help with God more in day-to-day lives
(98%) in the past week. By contrast, roughly % of each group who say they ____ in the past week
two-thirds of those who are less religious say Thanked Asked
God for God for Got angry
they thanked God for something (68%) in the something help with God
past seven days, and just over half (55%) say % % %
they asked God for guidance. Total 76 67 8

Among those who are …

Far fewer Americans say they got angry with Highly religious 99 98 10
God in the past week. There is only a slight Not highly religious 68 55 7
difference on this question between those who All affiliated 86 78 8
are highly religious and those who are not. Christian 88 80 8
Protestant 90 83 8
About eight-in-ten or more members of all Evangelical 93 87 8

Christian groups say they thanked God for Mainline 83 71 8

Historically black 96 91 5
something over the course of the previous
Catholic 83 72 10
week, including 96% of those belonging to
Non-Christian faiths 63 51 9
historically black Protestant churches and 93% Jewish 60 43 6
of evangelical Protestants. Members of non- Unaffiliated 37 25 6
Christian faiths and those who identify as Atheist/agnostic 18 13 3
religiously unaffiliated are significantly less Nothing in particular 48 32 8
likely to express gratitude to God in their day- Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say
to-day lives, but substantial shares still say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All
other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for
they gave thanks in the past week (63% and smaller religious groups are not shown because the supplemental
survey does not include enough interviews with members of these
37%, respectively). (For data on belief in God groups to analyze them separately.
among different religious groups, see the Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey
Religious Landscape Study.) conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
“Religion in Everyday Life”

When it comes to asking God for help or PEW RESEARCH CENTER

guidance, members of historically black

Protestant churches (91%) and evangelicals (87%) again stand out from other Christian traditions.
By comparison, about half of members of non-Christian faiths (51%) and a quarter of religious
“nones” (25%) report asking God for help in the past seven days.

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2. Essentials of Christian identity vary by level of religiosity;

many ‘nones’ say honesty vital to being a moral person
Most self-identified Christians in the U.S. say believing in God and praying regularly are
“essential” to what being Christian means to them. Similarly, majorities of U.S. Christians say
honesty, forgiveness and gratitude are vital parts of their Christian identity. About half of
Christians say working to help the needy and committing to spend time with family are essential to
what being Christian means to them, while fewer say the same about reading the Bible regularly,
attending religious services on a regular basis or working to protect the environment.

On several of the 16 possible elements of Christian identity that were mentioned in the survey,
there are significant gaps between highly religious Christians (that is, Christians who say they pray
daily and attend church at least weekly) and Christians who are less religious. For instance, seven-
in-ten highly religious Christians say reading the Bible is essential to their Christian identity, while
Christians who are less religious tend to see reading the Bible as “important, but not essential”
(43%). And highly religious Christians are more likely than others to say dressing modestly is
essential to what being Christian means to them (43% vs. 17%).

There also are gaps between members of different Christian traditions. Large shares of evangelical
Protestants (60%) and members of historically black Protestant denominations (57%) say reading
the Bible is essential to what being Christian means to them, while only about one-in-four
mainline Protestants (27%) and one-in-five Catholics (22%) say this. Evangelicals and black
Protestants also place greater emphasis on regular prayer.

Members of non-Christian faiths and people who do not identify with any religion were asked
whether the same 16 beliefs and behaviors are essential, important but not essential or not
important to what being a “moral person” means to them. Relatively few religious “nones” say that
believing in God, reading the Bible or resting on the Sabbath are essential to being a moral person.
But most say being honest at all times is an essential part of what it means to be a moral person,
and about half say being grateful for what they have is essential to morality.

The remainder of this chapter explores in greater detail the survey’s findings on the essentials of
Christian identity and, among non-Christians, views on what it means to be a moral person.

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Nearly all U.S. Christians say believing in God is essential (86%) or important but not essential
(10%) to what being Christian means to them, personally. Large majorities of all Christian groups,
from 95% of evangelical Protestants to 79% of Catholics, say it is essential.

Most Christians also say praying regularly is essential (63%) or important but not essential (28%)
to their Christian identity. But there is more diversity of opinion on this question among Christian
groups. While nearly eight-in-ten evangelical Protestants (79%) and three-quarters of members of
historically black Protestant churches (74%) say praying regularly is essential to their Christian
identity, only about half of mainline Protestants (49%) and Catholics (48%) share this view.

Next to belief in God and regular prayer, other religious behaviors are less central to Christians’
religious identity. Fewer than half of Christians (42%) say reading the Bible or other religious
materials is essential to their identity as Christians. Roughly one-third (35%) say regularly
attending religious services is essential to their Christian identity. Slightly more than a quarter
(28%) say helping out in their congregation is a key component of their religious identity. And
about one-in-five (18%) say resting on the Sabbath is an essential part of their faith.

Highly religious Christians are more likely than those who are less religious to say each of these
beliefs and behaviors is essential to what being Christian means to them. In the cases of prayer and
religious service attendance, this is especially unsurprising, since frequency of prayer and
attendance were the two measures used to determine whether respondents are categorized as
“highly religious” or not. But the gap persists on other measures as well. For example, seven-in-ten
highly religious Christians (70%) say reading the Bible is essential to their Christian identity, while
only 26% of less religious Christians say the same.

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Belief in God, prayer widely seen as essential to what it means to be Christian; other
religious behaviors less critical
% of Christians who say _____ is “essential” to what being Christian means to them
Reading Bible or Attending
Believing in Praying other religious religious Helping in Resting on
God regularly materials services congregation Sabbath
% % % % % %
All Christians 86 63 42 35 28 18

Among Christians who are …

Highly religious 97 89 70 61 47 28
Not highly religious 80 48 26 20 17 12

Protestant 89 68 49 34 30 19
Evangelical 95 79 60 42 35 21
Mainline 80 49 27 18 19 12
Historically black 88 74 57 39 43 28
Catholic 79 48 22 34 20 12
Note: Respondents who identified as Catholic were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not important” to “what
being Catholic means to you.” All other Christians were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not important” to
“what being Christian means to you.” “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services
at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for smaller Christian groups are not shown because
the supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to analyze them separately.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014. Based on Christians.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
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Honesty and forgiveness are

highly valued by most Honesty, forgiveness widely seen as essential to what
Christians. However, there are it means to be Christian
substantial differences % of Christians who say ____ is “essential” to what being Christian means to
between highly religious and them
less religious Christians on Forgiving Committing
Being those who to spend Not losing
whether or not these traits are honest at have time with one's
all times wronged you family temper
“essential” to their Christian
% % % %
identity. Among highly
All Christians 67 69 48 32
religious Christians, eight-in-
Among Christians who are …
ten or more say being honest
Highly religious 81 86 56 47
and forgiving those who have
Not highly religious 60 59 43 24
wronged them are essentials of
Protestant 71 73 47 36
their Christian identity. By
Evangelical 76 81 52 38
contrast, about six-in-ten
Mainline 60 63 41 26
Christians who are less
Historically black 75 66 44 50
religious say this. In both Catholic 57 55 47 24
cases, about one-in-ten or
Note: Respondents who identified as Catholic were asked if items were “essential,”
fewer say these acts are “not “important but not essential” or “not important” to “what being Catholic means to you.” All
other Christians were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not
important.” important” to “what being Christian means to you.” “Highly religious” respondents are
defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week.
All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for smaller Christian
Highly religious Christians groups are not shown because the supplemental survey does not include enough interviews
also are somewhat more likely with members of these groups to analyze them separately.

than those who are less Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014. Based on Christians.
religious to say spending time
“Religion in Everyday Life”
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it means to be Christian (56%
vs. 43%). And highly religious
Christians are nearly twice as likely as others to say not losing one’s temper is central to their
religious identity (47% vs. 24%).

Among Christian traditions, forgiveness is particularly important to evangelical Protestants; fully

eight-in-ten evangelicals (81%) say forgiving those who have wronged them is essential to their
Christian identity. And keeping one’s cool is particularly important to members of churches in the

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historically black Protestant tradition, 50% of whom say not losing one’s temper is essential to
what being Christian means to them.

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Highly religious Christians are

considerably more likely than Half of Christians say working to help poor key to their
those who are less religious to Christian identity; fewer cite environmentalism,
say working to help the poor purchasing from companies that pay fair wage
and needy is an essential part % of Christians who say ____ is “essential” to what being Christian means to
of what it means to be them

Christian (69% vs. 43%), Working to help Working to Buying from

the poor and protect the companies that
although large majorities of needy environment pay fair wage
% % %
both groups say it is at least
All Christians 52 22 14
important (if not necessarily
essential). Among religious Among Christians who are …

groups, those in the Highly religious 69 25 19

Not highly religious 43 21 11
historically black Protestant
tradition are particularly likely Protestant 54 23 14
to see helping the poor as an Evangelical 53 20 12
Mainline 51 25 12
essential part of their faith,
Historically black 67 34 25
with roughly two-thirds saying
Catholic 45 19 15
that helping the poor and
Note: Respondents who identified as Catholic were asked if items were “essential,”
needy is an essential part of “important but not essential” or “not important” to “what being Catholic means to you.” All
what being Christian means to other Christians were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not
important” to “what being Christian means to you.” “Highly religious” respondents are
them. defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week.
All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for smaller Christian
groups are not shown because the supplemental survey does not include enough interviews
Compared with helping the with members of these groups to analyze them separately.
poor, fewer Christians see Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014. Based on Christians.
working to protect the
“Religion in Everyday Life”
environment as essential
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
(22%) or important but not
essential (50%) to their
Christian identity. And Christians are more likely to say that buying from companies that pay their
employees a fair wage is not important to their Christian identity (37%) than to say it is essential
(14%). At the same time, the most common view among Christians is that it is important but not
essential (49%). In both cases, members of churches in the historically black Protestant tradition
are more likely than other Christians to say these behaviors are vital to being Christian.

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An overwhelming majority of
highly religious Christians say Highly religious Christians more likely to see dressing
being grateful for what they modestly as vital to Christian identity
have is essential (84%) to what % of Christians who say ____ is “essential” to what being Christian means to
being Christian means to them

them. This view is also Being grateful Being healthy by

for what you Dressing eating right &
common among Christians have modestly exercising
who are not highly religious % % %
All Christians 71 26 18
(63%). Overall, 71% of U.S.
Christians take this view. Among Christians who are …
Highly religious 84 43 24
Not highly religious 63 17 15
Fully 43% of highly religious
Christians say dressing Protestant 73 27 19
modestly is crucial to their Evangelical 78 36 21

Christian identity, compared Mainline 65 14 13

Historically black 68 26 27
with just 17% of those who are
Catholic 64 20 14
less religious. About a quarter
Note: Respondents who identified as Catholic were asked if items were “essential,”
of Christians overall (26%) say “important but not essential” or “not important” to “what being Catholic means to you.” All
dressing modestly is essential other Christians were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not
important” to “what being Christian means to you.” “Highly religious” respondents are
to what it means to be a defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week.
Christian. This view is held by All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Results for smaller Christian
groups are not shown because the supplemental survey does not include enough interviews
36% of evangelical with members of these groups to analyze them separately.
Protestants. Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept.
3, 2014. Based on Christians.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
Overall, about one-in-five
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Christians (18%) say being
healthy by eating right and
exercising is central to their Christian identity.

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Within all major Christian traditions analyzed in this report, belief in God is the highest-ranking
item seen as essential to Christian identity. By contrast, buying from companies that pay a fair
wage ranks at or near the bottom of “essentials” of religious identity for every group analyzed.

Among Christian groups, believing in God most commonly cited as essential to

religious identity
Rank order by share of Christians citing each behavior as “essential” to what being Christian means to them
Historically
Evangelical Mainline black
All Christians Protestants Protestants Protestants Catholics
Believing in God 1 1 1 1 1
Being grateful for what you have 2 4 2 4 2
Forgiving those who have wronged you 3 2 3 6 4
Being honest at all times 4 5 4 2 3

Praying regularly 5 3 6 3 5
Working to help poor/needy 6 7 5 5 7
Committing to spend time with family 7 8 7 9 6
Reading Bible/other religious materials 8 6 8 7 10

Attending religious services 9 9 12 11 8

Not losing temper 10 10 9 8 9
Helping in congregation 11 12 11 10 11 (tie)
Dressing modestly 12 11 13 15 11 (tie)

Working to protect environment 13 15 10 12 13

Living healthy lifestyle 14 (tie) 13 (tie) 14 14 15
Resting on Sabbath 14 (tie) 13 (tie) 15 (tie) 13 16
Buying from companies that pay fair wage 16 16 15 (tie) 16 14
Note: Respondents who identified as Catholic were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not important” to “what
being Catholic means to you.” All other Christians were asked if items were “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not important” to
“what being Christian means to you.” Results for smaller Christian groups are not shown because the supplemental survey does not include
enough interviews with members of these groups to analyze them separately.

Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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The survey included an open-ended question

that gave respondents an opportunity to Roughly equal shares of Christians
describe, in their own words, what else (beyond volunteer religious and moral behaviors
the specific beliefs and behaviors included in as essential to Christian identity
the survey) is an essential part of what being In your own words, is there anything else that is an
essential part of what being Christian means to you?
Christian means to them.
Among
Christians
Christians are about equally likely to cite moral
%
behaviors as vital to their Christian identity as NET Religious behaviors 37
they are to mention explicitly religious Trust in God/belief in God 13
behaviors. Roughly a third (34%) say the golden Salvation through Jesus 11
rule and other things that are not explicitly Following the Bible/religious law 7
religious, such as “being a good person,” are Faith 2

vital to their Christian identity. 14 A similar Other religious beliefs/practices 8

NET Moral behaviors 34
share of Christians (37%) volunteer clearly
Golden rule/kindness/empathy/love 15
religious beliefs and behaviors, such as
Being a good person 6
salvation through Jesus or following the Bible.
Tolerance/respect 6
Helping others 4
Honesty 3
Being the best person you can/true to self 2
Protecting the environment *
Other moral behaviors 7
Off topic 2
Unclear 1
No answer 34
Note: Figures do not sum to 100% or to subtotals indicated because
multiple responses were permitted.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey
conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014. Based on Christians.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

14For more on this topic, see Ammerman, Nancy T. 1997. "Golden Rule Christianity: Lived Religion in the American Mainstream." In Hall, D.D.
ed. “Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice.”

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Just as most Christians say being honest and being grateful are essential elements of their
Christian identity, most non-Christians say honesty and gratitude are “essential” to what being a
“moral person” means to them. And roughly half of non-Christians say prioritizing family time is
essential to what it means to be a moral person.

Most non-Christians say honesty, gratitude essential to what being ‘moral person’
means to them
% who say ____ is “essential” to what being a moral person means to them
Members of non-
Christian faiths Unaffiliated
Among ALL (22% of all non- (78% of all non-
non-Christians Christians) Christians)
% % %
Being honest at all times 58 57 58
Being grateful for what you have 56 67 53
Committing to spend time with family 48 53 47
Forgiving those who have wronged you 42 52 39
Working to protect environment 37 42 35
Working to help poor and needy 35 40 33
Not losing temper 26 29 25
Buying from companies that pay fair wage 21 24 20
Living healthy lifestyle with good diet, exercise 18 29 15
Believing in God 17 30 13
Praying regularly 13 23 10
Dressing modestly 12 20 10
Reading Bible/other religious materials 7 18 3
Helping out in your congregation 5 10 3
Attending religious services 5 14 2
Resting on Sabbath 4 12 2
Note: Those who did not answer the question about their religious identity are not included.

Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Relatively few religious “nones,” who make up 78% of the non-Christians surveyed, say religious
beliefs or behaviors are central to what it means to be a moral person. For example, only about
three-in-ten respondents without any religious affiliation say believing in God is either essential
(13%) or important but not essential (18%) to what being a “moral person” means to them. And
only about one-in-ten religious “nones” say attending religious services is essential (2%) or
important but not essential (10%) to what it means to be a moral person. By contrast, about half or
more of the unaffiliated say honesty and gratitude are essential to being a moral person.

Members of non-Christian faiths are more likely than the unaffiliated to consider religious beliefs
and behaviors essential to being a moral person, though they still see attributes such as gratitude
and honesty as more vital. For example, 30% of members of non-Christian faiths say believing in
God is essential to what being a moral person means to them, and 23% say the same about praying
regularly. Much bigger shares say gratitude (67%) or honesty (57%) are essential to being a moral
person.

Although members of different non-Christian faiths may have different views on these questions,
sample sizes for these groups are too small to be reported separately. Members of all non-
Christian faiths received the same questions about whether certain beliefs or behaviors are
essential to what being a moral person means to them.

Ideally, the survey would have asked about the “essentials” of religious identity across a wider
range of religious groups. For example, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist respondents would have
been asked if these behaviors are essential to what being Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist means to
them. Because some respondents completed the survey by mail in a paper-and-pencil format,
however, it was not feasible to program the questionnaire with language specific to more than a
few religious groups.

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On an open-ended question
posed to non-Christian
Many religious ‘nones’ cite golden rule as key to what
respondents about what
it means to be a moral person
additional beliefs and
In your own words, is there anything else that is an essential part of what
behaviors are essential to what being a moral person means to you?
it means to be a moral person, Members of
most religious “nones” (63%) Among ALL non-Christian
non-Christians faiths Unaffiliated
cite attributes or behaviors that % % %
are not explicitly religious. This NET Moral behaviors 63 62 63
includes about a quarter (23%) Golden rule/kindness/
empathy/love 23 22 23
who mention the golden rule,
Being a good person 15 13 15
being kind or loving others; Tolerance/respect 12 11 12
15% who mention being a good Helping others 10 14 9
person; and 12% who say being Honesty 9 9 9
tolerant and respectful of Being the best person you can/
true to self 3 4 3
others is key to being a moral
Protecting the environment 1 2 1
person. Some religiously
Other moral behaviors 15 14 16
unaffiliated Americans also cite NET Religious behaviors 3 8 2
honesty and helping others, Trust in God/belief in God 1 2 *
with a smaller number saying Salvation through Jesus * 1 *
being true to oneself is central Following the Bible 1 2 1
to what it means to be a moral Faith * 0 *
person. Other religious beliefs/practices 1 5 *
Off topic 1 1 1
Unclear 1 3 1
Only 2% of religious “nones”
No answer 33 29 35
mention explicitly religious
Note: Figures do not sum to 100% or to subtotals indicated because multiple responses
behaviors, such as following were permitted. Those who did not answer the question about their religious identity are not
the Bible or trusting in God, as included.

essential to what being a moral Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
Sept. 3, 2014.
person means to them.
“Religion in Everyday Life”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
On the same open-ended
question, most members of
non-Christian faiths (62%) also volunteer attributes or behaviors that are not explicitly religious,
including 22% who cite the golden rule or generally showing love and kindness to others.
Relatively few (8%) mention explicitly religious beliefs or practices.

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3. Few Americans turn to religious leaders for advice when

making major life decisions
When making major life decisions, most Americans in this internet age say they rely heavily on
their own research. Fewer than half of U.S. adults overall say they rely on prayer and personal
religious reflection. But highly religious Americans rely on prayer and personal reflection as often
as on their own research, and those who are highly religious are roughly four times more likely
than those who are not to turn to religious leaders for advice (33% vs. 8%).

This chapter explores the sources both highly religious and less religious people turn to when
making major life decisions, as well as differences among members of various religious groups on
this question. Additionally, it looks at where U.S. Catholics look for moral guidance: Most
Catholics say they turn to their own conscience “a great deal” when seeking guidance on difficult
moral questions, while far fewer say they look to the Catholic Church’s teachings, the Bible or the
pope.

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Most U.S. adults (82%),

Eight-in-ten rely ‘a lot’ on their own research when
including majorities within
making major life decisions; 45% turn to prayer
every major religious group, say
% of each group who say they rely a lot on ____ when making major life
they rely “a lot” on their own decisions
research when making a “major Prayer and Advice
life decision.” By comparison, personal Advice Advice from from
Own religious from professional religious
far fewer say they rely as heavily research reflection family experts leaders
% % % % %
on prayer and personal religious
Total 82 45 43 25 15
reflection (45%) or advice from
family (43%) to help make Among those who are …
Highly religious 80 86 49 22 33
important decisions.15
Not highly religious 83 29 42 26 8

There are, however, major All affiliated 81 54 45 25 18

differences based on religion in Christian 81 55 45 24 19

Protestant 80 61 43 22 21
the role of prayer in making
Evangelical 79 70 44 20 26
decisions. Most highly religious
Mainline 83 38 39 27 9
people (86%), as well as most
Historically black 75 78 46 16 30
members of the historically Catholic 84 39 50 30 10
black Protestant tradition (78%) Non-Christian faiths 81 38 50 37 10
and evangelical Protestants Jewish 79 26 48 38 12
(70%), say they rely a lot on Unaffiliated 87 9 37 24 2
prayer and personal religious Atheist/agnostic 93 7 32 27 6

reflection. Far fewer Catholics Nothing in particular 84 11 39 22 4

(39%), mainline Protestants Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
(38%) and adherents of non- highly religious.” Results for smaller religious groups are not shown because the
Christian faiths (38%) rely supplemental survey does not include enough interviews with members of these groups to
analyze them separately.
heavily on prayer when making
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
major decisions. And just one- Sept. 3, 2014.
in-ten religious “nones” (9%) “Religion in Everyday Life”
say they turn to prayer a lot to PEW RESEARCH CENTER

help make decisions.

15Respondents were not forced to choose among the sources of advice, but nearly all (95%) say they rely “a lot” on at least one of the
sources named, and most (68%) rely heavily on more than one source of advice.

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Americans overall are much less likely to rely a lot on advice from professional experts (25%) or
religious leaders (15%) than they are on prayer or advice from family members. Even among
highly religious Americans, only a third say they rely heavily on advice from religious leaders to
help make major life decisions. However, there are differences among religious groups. For
example, 40% of highly religious evangelical Protestants say they turn to religious leaders a lot for
advice when making major life decisions. (See detailed tables at the back of this report.)

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Catholics largely rely on own consciences when

considering moral questions
How much do you look to each of the following for guidance on difficult
moral questions?

About three-quarters of U.S. NET Highly Not highly

All Catholics religious religious
Catholics (73%) say they look to Your own conscience? % % %
their own conscience “a great A great deal 73 74 73
deal” for guidance on difficult Some 18 20 17
moral questions. Far fewer Not much 4 1 5
Catholics say they rely a great Not at all 2 1 2
deal on the Catholic Church’s Don't know/undesignated 3 4 3

teachings (21%), the Bible (15%) 100 100 100

or the pope (11%) for such Catholic Church’s teachings?

A great deal 21 44 14
guidance.
Some 34 38 34
Not much 24 13 28
Catholics who are highly 17 1 22
Not at all
religious are more likely than Don't know/undesignated 3 4 3
less religious Catholics to turn to 100 100 100
church teachings, the Bible or The Bible?
the pope for guidance on A great deal 15 35 9

difficult moral questions. Still, Some 26 41 21

Not much 26 12 30
far fewer highly religious
Not at all 29 7 36
Catholics say they rely a great
Don't know/undesignated 3 4 3
deal on any of these three 100 100 100
sources for guidance on tough
The pope?
moral questions than say they A great deal 11 29 5
rely on their own conscience. Some 30 43 25
Not much 28 18 31
This set of questions was Not at all 28 6 35

designed specifically for Don't know/undesignated 4 4 3

100 100 100
Catholics and was asked only of
Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and
adults who self-identified as
attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
Catholic. highly religious.” See topline for details on “undesignated” category.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-
Sept. 3, 2014. Based on Catholics.

“Religion in Everyday Life”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Methodology
This report is based on results from two surveys – a national telephone survey of more than
35,000 adults that was the centerpiece of the Pew Research Center’s 2014 U.S. Religious
Landscape Study, and a supplemental survey conducted at roughly the same time (summer 2014)
among participants in Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). Full methodological
details about the telephone survey are included in Pew Research Center’s 2015 report “America’s
Changing Religious Landscape.”

The American Trends Panel is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults
living in households. Respondents who self-identify as internet users (representing 89% of U.S.
adults) participate in the panel via monthly self-administered web surveys, while those who do not
use the internet participate via telephone or mail. The panel is being managed by Abt SRBI.

Data in this report are drawn from the August 2014 wave of the American Trends Panel,
conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014, among 3,278 respondents (2,923 by web and 355 by mail). The
margin of sampling error for the full sample of 3,278 respondents is plus or minus 2.3 percentage
points.

Members of the American Trends Panel were originally recruited from the 2014 Political
Polarization and Typology Survey, a large (n=10,013) national landline and cellphone random
digit dial (RDD) survey conducted Jan. 23-March 16, 2014, in English and Spanish. At the end of
that survey, respondents were invited to join the panel. The invitation was extended to all
respondents who use the internet (from any ___location) and a random subsample of respondents
who do not use the internet.16

Of the 10,013 adults interviewed, 9,809 were invited to take part in the panel. A total of 5,338
agreed to participate and provided either a mailing address or an email address to which a
welcome packet, a monetary incentive and future survey invitations could be sent. Panelists also
receive a small monetary incentive after participating in each wave of the survey.

The ATP data were weighted in a multi-step process that begins with a base weight incorporating
the respondents’ original survey selection probability and the fact that some panelists were
subsampled for invitation to the panel. Next, an adjustment was made for the fact that the

16When data collection for the 2014 Political Polarization and Typology Survey began, non-internet users were subsampled at a rate of 25%,
but a decision was made shortly thereafter to invite all non-internet users to join. In total, 83% of non-internet users were invited to join the
panel.

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propensity to join the panel varied across different groups in the sample. The final step in the
weighting uses an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin
and region to parameters from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey.
Population density is weighted to match the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census. Telephone service is
weighted to estimates of telephone coverage for 2014 that were projected from the July-December
2013 National Health Interview Survey. It also adjusts for party affiliation using an average of the
three most recent (at the time) Pew Research Center general public telephone surveys, and for
internet use using as a parameter a measure from the 2014 Political Polarization and Typology
Survey. The Hispanic sample in the American Trends Panel is predominantly native born and
English speaking.

The web component of the August 2014 panel wave had a response rate of 62% (2,923 responses
among 4,702 web-based individuals enrolled in the panel); the mail component had a response
rate of 64% (355 responses among 559 non-web individuals enrolled in the panel). Taking account
of the response rate for the 2014 Political Polarization and Typology Survey (10.6%), the
cumulative response rate for the August 2014 ATP wave is 3.6%.

Respondents to the ATP supplemental survey were categorized into religious traditions (e.g.,
evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, religiously unaffiliated, etc.)
following the procedures used in analyzing results from the national telephone survey.
Respondents in most religious traditions were categorized based on their response to a question
about religious identity included in the 2014 Political Polarization and Typology Survey, which
asked, “What is your present religion, if any? Are you Protestant, Roman Catholic, Mormon,
Orthodox such as Greek or Russian Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, agnostic,
something else, or nothing in particular?”

Protestants were coded into one of three major Protestant traditions (the evangelical Protestant
tradition, the mainline Protestant tradition or the historically black Protestant tradition) based on
their answers to follow-up questions, administered as part of the ATP supplemental survey, which
were designed to determine the specific denomination with which they most closely identify (see
Appendix B: Classification of Protestant Denominations in “America’s Changing Religious
Landscape” for full details).17

17The only exception is respondents who normally participate in ATP surveys via mail and who participated in the July 2014 wave of the ATP,
who were categorized into religious traditions based on their answers in the July 2014 ATP wave, which they completed on the phone. The

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Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that
would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:

National Telephone Survey ATP Supplemental Survey

Unweighted Unweighted
sample size Plus or minus… sample size Plus or minus…
Total sample 35,071 0.6 percentage points 3,278 2.3 percentage points

Highly religious 11,070 1.2 percentage points 854 4.4 percentage points
Christian 10,540 1.2 percentage points 818 4.5 percentage points
Evangelical Protestant 4,670 1.7 percentage points 408 6.3 percentage points
Mainline Protestant 1,705 3.0 percentage points 130 11.2 percentage points
Catholic 2,437 2.5 percentage points 154 10.3 percentage points
Less religious 24,001 0.8 percentage points 2,424 2.6 percentage points
Christian 14,508 1.0 percentage points 1,461 3.3 percentage points
Evangelical Protestant 3,923 1.9 percentage points 368 6.7 percentage points
Mainline Protestant 4,378 1.8 percentage points 472 5.9 percentage points
Catholic 4,765 1.7 percentage points 480 5.8 percentage points

Christian 25,048 0.8 percentage points 2,279 2.7 percentage points

Protestant 16,592 0.9 percentage points 1,519 3.3 percentage points
Evangelical 8,593 1.3 percentage points 776 4.6 percentage points
Mainline 6,083 1.6 percentage points 602 5.2 percentage points
Historically black 1,916 2.7 percentage points 141 10.8 percentage points
Catholic 7,202 1.4 percentage points 634 5.1 percentage points
Non-Christian faiths 2,244 2.6 percentage points 245 8.2 percentage points
Jewish 847 4.2 percentage points 106 12.4 percentage points
Unaffiliated 7,556 1.4 percentage points 722 4.8 percentage points
Atheist/agnostic 2,572 2.4 percentage points 305 7.3 percentage points
Nothing in particular 4,984 1.7 percentage points 417 6.3 percentage points
Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

wording for these questions is available upon request. All other respondents were categorized into religious traditions based on their answers
to the religious identity question included in the 2014 Political Polarization and Typology Survey and, for Protestants, based on their answers
to follow-up questions included in the August 2014 ATP supplemental survey.

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Detailed tables
The following detailed tables compare highly religious members of certain religious groups (all
Christians, evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics) with members of those
groups who are not highly religious for many questions in this report. The survey included too few
interviews with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black
Protestant tradition, Jews and religious “nones” – to permit analysis of highly religious and less
religious subsamples within those traditions.

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Family life and overall happiness

Attend family gatherings Satisfaction with family life How would you say things are these days in
your life?
At least
once/twice A few times Seldom/ Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Pretty Not too
a month a year never DK/ref. satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied DK/ref. Very happy happy happy DK/ref.
% % % % % % % % % % % % %
Total 35 38 27 *=100 69 21 5 3 2=100 32 52 14 2=100

All Christians 38 38 24 1 70 20 5 3 2 34 50 14 2
Highly religious 47 36 16 1 74 17 4 2 2 40 46 12 2
Not highly religious 32 39 28 * 68 21 5 3 3 30 52 16 2

Evangelical Protestants 40 35 24 1 70 19 5 3 2 35 49 14 2
Highly religious 49 33 17 1 74 17 4 3 2 40 47 11 2
Not highly religious 31 37 31 1 66 21 6 4 3 29 52 16 2

Mainline Protestants 32 42 26 * 72 20 4 2 2 32 53 13 2
Highly religious 35 47 16 2 76 17 3 2 2 40 48 10 2
Not highly religious 30 40 29 0 70 20 4 3 2 29 55 14 2

Catholics 42 38 20 0 72 19 4 2 3 35 47 15 3
Highly religious 56 33 11 0 76 16 4 1 2 40 42 14 3
Not highly religious 37 39 23 0 70 20 5 3 3 32 49 16 3

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Figures may not add to 100%
due to rounding. See toplines for full question wording. The supplemental survey included too few interviews with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and
religious "nones" – to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those traditions.
Source: Data on satistification with family life and overall life satisfaction from 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014. All other data from supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3,
2014.
"Religion in Everyday Life"
PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Discussions about religion

% who talk about religion with ____ at What do you think is the best thing to do when
least once/twice a month someone disagrees with you about religion?
Try to
People understand and Avoid
Immediate Extended outside Persuade agree to discussing
family family family them disagree religion DK/ref.
% % % % % % %
Total 46 27 33 5 67 27 1=100

All Christians 55 33 40 6 69 24 1
Highly religious 81 55 67 11 74 15 *
Not highly religious 41 21 24 4 67 28 1

Evangelical Protestants 70 44 55 10 70 18 1
Highly religious 88 62 77 16 70 14 *
Not highly religious 53 26 33 5 71 22 1

Mainline Protestants 42 21 27 5 70 25 *
Highly religious 68 38 50 5 81 14 0
Not highly religious 34 16 20 4 67 29 1

Catholics 42 22 24 2 66 31 1
Highly religious 67 37 49 7 71 23 0
Not highly religious 34 17 16 1 65 34 1

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other
respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for full question wording. The survey included too few interviews with those in
other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit analysis of
highly religious and less religious subsamples within those traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Volunteering
In the past week, did
Thinking specifically about just the past week, did you yourself happen to do any you donate money,
volunteer work in the last seven days, or not? And was that mainly through a church or time or goods to help
other religious organization, or not? the poor and needy?

NET Yes, Through Not through Other/DK if No, did not

volunteered church church through church volunteer DK/ref. Yes
% % % % % % %
Total 33 10 22 1 67 *=100 48

All Christians 34 12 21 1 65 * 52
Highly religious 45 23 20 2 55 * 65
Not highly religious 27 5 22 1 72 * 44

Evangelical Protestants 37 15 21 1 63 * 55
Highly religious 45 24 19 2 54 * 65
Not highly religious 27 5 22 1 72 * 45

Mainline Protestants 35 10 24 1 65 * 49
Highly religious 49 25 21 3 51 * 61
Not highly religious 31 5 25 1 69 * 46

Catholics 29 9 20 1 71 * 49
Highly religious 40 17 21 2 60 * 74
Not highly religious 25 5 19 1 75 * 42

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are
coded as “not highly religious.” Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. See toplines for full question wording. The supplemental survey included too few
interviews with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit
analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those traditions.
Source: Data on volunteerism from 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014. All other data from supplemental survey conducted
Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Interpersonal interactions
% who say they ____ in the past week

Told a white lie Lost their temper

% %
Total 43 43

All Christians 40 43
Highly religious 38 41
Not highly religious 41 43

Evangelical Protestants 38 44
Highly religious 36 41
Not highly religious 40 48

Mainline Protestants 38 35
Highly religious 33 34
Not highly religious 39 36

Catholics 44 43
Highly religious 44 47
Not highly religious 44 41

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily
and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are
coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for full question wording. The survey
included too few interviews with those in other religious traditions – including
members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones"
– to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those
traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted
Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Exercise and health

Are you satisified or dissatisfied, on the whole, with your % who ____ in the past
health? Frequency of exercise in past week week
Did not Meditated to
Very Somewhat Somewhat Very exercise in Once or Three or Five or cope with Ate too
satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied DK/ref. past week twice four times more times DK/ref. stress much
% % % % % % % % % % % %
Total 52 30 10 6 2=100 29 27 23 20 1=100 30 58

All Christians 51 30 10 7 2 31 25 23 19 1 32 58
Highly religious 54 29 9 6 2 31 24 24 20 2 42 59
Not highly religious 50 31 10 7 2 30 27 23 19 1 26 58

Evangelical Protestants 50 30 11 8 2 31 26 24 18 1 32 59
Highly religious 53 29 10 6 2 30 25 26 17 2 39 60
Not highly religious 46 31 12 9 2 32 28 22 18 * 25 59

Mainline Protestants 52 31 9 6 2 32 24 24 20 1 29 58
Highly religious 56 28 7 6 2 30 19 31 19 * 40 61
Not highly religious 51 32 9 6 2 32 26 21 20 1 25 57

Catholics 53 29 9 5 3 30 26 21 21 2 31 58
Highly religious 57 27 8 5 3 34 22 21 19 4 40 57
Not highly religious 52 30 10 6 3 28 27 22 22 1 28 59

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” Figures may not add to
100% due to rounding. See toplines for full question wording. The supplemental survey included too few interviews with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant
tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those traditions.
Source: Data on satistification with health from 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4-Sept. 30, 2014. All other data from supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Recycling and purchasing decisions

How often do you recycle or reduce waste in order to protect % who say _____ is a "major factor" when making purchasing
the environment? decisions for everyday products
How
How much environmentally Whether company
Whenever Most of the Quality of the product responsible the pays employees a
possible time Occasionally Never DK/ref. the product costs company is fair wage
% % % % % % % % %
Total 46 30 19 4 *=100 90 75 26 26

All Christians 44 31 20 4 * 90 77 26 26
Highly religious 47 28 20 4 1 90 77 26 28
Not highly religious 42 32 20 5 0 90 76 26 24

Evangelical Protestants 42 30 22 5 * 91 80 20 22
Highly religious 43 30 21 6 * 90 78 19 23
Not highly religious 42 31 23 5 0 92 81 21 21

Mainline Protestants 44 33 17 5 1 89 75 29 25
Highly religious 43 30 24 * 3 85 78 27 30
Not highly religious 45 34 15 6 0 91 74 29 24

Catholics 46 33 18 3 1 91 74 29 28
Highly religious 53 33 9 2 3 92 73 41 39
Not highly religious 43 32 21 3 0 91 75 26 25

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not
highly religious.” Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding. See topline for full question wording. The survey included too few interviews with those in other religious traditions
– including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those
traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Essentials of Christian identity

% who say ______ is "essential" to what being "Christian" or "Catholic" means to them

Attending
Believing in Praying Reading Bible/other religious Helping in Resting on
God regularly religious materials services congregation Sabbath
% % % % % %
Total 68 49 32 27 22 14

All Christians 86 63 42 35 28 18
Highly religious 97 89 70 61 47 28
Not highly religious 80 48 26 20 17 12

Evangelical Protestants 95 79 60 42 35 21
Highly religious 98 93 83 63 49 31
Not highly religious 91 65 38 21 20 11

Mainline Protestants 80 49 27 18 19 12
Highly religious 98 80 61 36 36 18
Not highly religious 74 39 17 13 14 10

Catholics 79 48 22 34 20 12
Highly religious 95 87 42 75 42 20
Not highly religious 74 35 16 22 13 9

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All
other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for full question wording. Catholics were asked if items were "essential,"
"important but not essential" or "not important" to "what being Catholic means to you." All other Christians were asked if items were
"essential," "important but not essential" or "not important" to "what being Christian means to you." The survey included too few interviews
with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to
permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples within those traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Essentials of Christian identity, continued

% who say ______ is "essential" to what being "Christian" or "Catholic" means to them

Forgiving Being
those who Committing Buying from Being healthy by
Being have to spend Not losing Working to Working to companies grateful for eating right
honest at wronged time with one's help protect the that pay a what you Dressing and
all times you family temper poor/needy environment fair wage have modestly exercising
% % % % % % % % % %
Total 65 61 48 31 47 26 16 67 22 18

All Christians 67 69 48 32 52 22 14 71 26 18
Highly religious 81 86 56 47 69 25 19 84 43 24
Not highly religious 60 59 43 24 43 21 11 63 17 15

Evangelical Protestants 76 81 52 38 53 20 12 78 36 21
Highly religious 84 91 55 49 66 22 14 84 48 25
Not highly religious 69 72 50 27 41 18 10 72 23 18

Mainline Protestants 60 63 41 26 51 25 12 65 14 13
Highly religious 80 87 54 40 72 26 20 87 28 12
Not highly religious 54 56 37 22 45 25 10 58 9 13

Catholics 57 55 47 24 45 19 15 64 20 14
Highly religious 71 76 56 42 70 28 34 84 40 21
Not highly religious 53 49 44 18 38 17 9 58 14 11

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly
religious.” See topline for full question wording. Catholics were asked if items were "essential," "important but not essential" or "not important" to "what being Catholic means to you." All
other Christians were asked if items were "essential," "important but not essential" or "not important" to "what being Christian means to you." The survey included too few interviews with
those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious
subsamples within those traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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Sources of guidance on major life decisions

% who say they rely "a lot" on ______ when making major life decisions

Advice from Advice from

Own Prayer/personal Advice from professional religious
research religious reflection family experts leaders
% % % % %
Total 82 45 43 25 15

All Christians 81 55 45 24 19
Highly religious 80 87 49 21 34
Not highly religious 82 37 43 26 10

Evangelical Protestants 79 70 44 20 26
Highly religious 80 90 45 17 40
Not highly religious 79 50 44 23 13

Mainline Protestants 83 38 39 27 9
Highly religious 82 80 46 32 21
Not highly religious 83 26 36 26 6

Catholics 84 39 50 30 10
Highly religious 77 77 52 28 19
Not highly religious 86 27 50 31 7

Note: “Highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least
once a week. All other respondents are coded as “not highly religious.” See topline for full question wording. The
survey included too few interviews with those in other religious traditions – including members of the historically black
Protestant tradition, Jews and religious "nones" – to permit analysis of highly religious and less religious subsamples
within those traditions.
Source: 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study supplemental survey conducted Aug. 11-Sept. 3, 2014.
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

2014 RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE STUDY (RLS-II)
AMERICAN TRENDS PANEL WAVE 6
TOPLINE
AUGUST 11-SEPTEMBER 3, 2014
N=3,278

THIS TOPLINE SHOWS QUESTION WORDING FROM THE WEB VERSION OF THE SURVEY. QUESTION
WORDING, FORMAT, AND ORDER WERE ADAPTED FOR THE PAPER QUESTIONNAIRE DELIVERED BY
MAIL; THE MAIL QUESTIONNAIRE IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. ALL QUESTIONS WERE ASKED IN
BOTH MODES UNLESS NOTED.

THIS TOPLINE DOES NOT INCLUDE RESULTS FOR ALL QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY. SOME
QUESTIONS WERE PREVIOUSLY RELEASED; OTHERS HAVE BEEN HELD FOR FUTURE RELEASE. FOR
FULL DETAILS ON QUESTION WORDING AND ORDER, SEE THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE.

ASK ALL:
[RANDOMIZE Q.B1A TO Q.B1E]
Q.B1A When you make major life decisions, how much do you rely on ADVICE FROM FAMILY?

43 A lot
50 A little
7 Not at all
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B1B When you make major life decisions, how much do you rely on ADVICE FROM
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTS?

25 A lot
57 A little
18 Not at all
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B1C When you make major life decisions, how much do you rely on PRAYER AND PERSONAL
RELIGIOUS REFLECTION?

45 A lot
30 A little
25 Not at all
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B1D When you make major life decisions, how much do you rely on ADVICE FROM
RELIGIOUS LEADERS?

15 A lot
35 A little
49 Not at all
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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Q.B1E When you make major life decisions, how much do you rely on YOUR OWN RESEARCH?

82 A lot
16 A little
1 Not at all
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
[RANDOMIZE Q.B2A TO Q.B2D]
Q.B2 How much, if at all, do you consider each factor when making purchasing decisions for
EVERYDAY PRODUCTS?

a. How much the product costs. Is this a …?

75 A major factor in your decisions

22 A minor factor in your decisions
3 Not a factor in your decisions
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

b. Whether the company pays its employees a fair wage. Is this …?

26 A major factor in your decisions

37 A minor factor in your decisions
37 Not a factor in your decisions
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

c. How environmentally responsible the company is. Is this …?

26 A major factor in your decisions

48 A minor factor in your decisions
25 Not a factor in your decisions
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

d. The quality of the product. Is this …?

90 A major factor in your decisions

9 A minor factor in your decisions
1 Not a factor in your decisions
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B3 How often do you recycle or reduce waste in order to protect the environment?

46 Whenever possible
30 Most of the time
19 Occasionally
4 Never
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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ASK ALL:
Q.B4 Thinking specifically about just the past week, the past seven days, how many times
did you get some kind of vigorous exercise such as running, playing a sport or working
out at a gym? [RESPONDENTS ENTER NUMBER]

29 0 times
27 1-2 times
23 3-4 times
20 5 or more times
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

2.5 Mean1

ASK ALL:
[RANDOMIZE ITEMS Q.B5D-Q.B5H FIRST, FOLLOWED BY RANDOMIZED Q.B5A-Q.B5C]
Q.B5A In the past week, did you ask God for help or guidance about something?

67 Yes
33 No
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5B In the past week, did you thank God for something?

76 Yes
23 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5C In the past week, did you ever become angry at God?

8 Yes
92 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5D In the past week, did you donate money, time or goods to help the poor and needy?

48 Yes
52 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5E In the past week, did you tell a white lie?

43 Yes
56 No
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

1 Mean excludes six respondents who reported exercising more than 20 times in the past seven days.

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Q.B5F In the past week, did you lose your temper?

43 Yes
57 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5G In the past week, did you ever eat too much?

58 Yes
42 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

Q.B5H In the past week, did you meditate to cope with stress?

30 Yes
69 No
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B6 How often, if ever, do you attend a gathering with extended family?

12 At least once a week

22 Once or twice a month
38 A few times a year
21 Seldom
6 Never
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B9 How often, if ever, do you volunteer or help out in a church or other religious
congregation?

10 At least once a week

9 Once or twice a month
13 Several times a year
25 Seldom
42 Never
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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ASK ALL:

[RANDOMIZE ORDER OF SET Q.B10 AND Q.B16]

[RANDOMIZE ITEMS Q.B10C THROUGH Q.B10H; ITEM A SHOULD ALWAYS APPEAR FIRST, AND
SHOULD ALWAYS BE FOLLOWED BY B]
Q.B10 Please tell me how important each of the following is to what being [IF RESPONDENT
WAS CATHOLIC, INSERT “Catholic”; IF RESPONDENT WAS A NON-CATHOLIC
CHRISTIAN, INSERT “Christian”; FOR ALL OTHER RESPONDENTS, INSERT “a moral
person” means to you].

a. Attending religious services regularly. Is this…?

27 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

34 Important but not essential
38 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

b. Helping out in your congregation. Is this…?

22 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

41 Important but not essential
36 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

c. Living a healthy lifestyle by eating right and exercising regularly. Is this...?

18 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

52 Important but not essential
29 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

d. Committing to spend time with family. Is this...?

48 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

41 Important but not essential
10 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

e. Forgiving those who have wronged you. Is this...?

61 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

30 Important but not essential
8 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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f. Working to protect the environment. Is this...?

26 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

50 Important but not essential
23 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

g. Reading the Bible or other religious materials regularly. Is this...?

32 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

31 Important but not essential
36 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

h. Dressing modestly. Is this...?

22 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

40 Important but not essential
37 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

B11-B14 LOCATED AFTER B10,B16,B17 SET

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ASK ALL:
[RANDOMIZE ITEMS Q.B16C THROUGH Q.B16H; ITEM A SHOULD ALWAYS APPEAR FIRST,
FOLLOWED BY B ALWAYS 2ND]
Q.B16 Please tell me how important each of the following is to what being [IF RESPONDENT
WAS CATHOLIC, INSERT “Catholic”; IF RESPONDENT WAS A NON-CATHOLIC
CHRISTIAN, INSERT “Christian”; FOR ALL OTHER RESPONDENTS, INSERT “a moral
person”] means to you.

a. Believing in God. Is this…?

68 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

12 Important but not essential
19 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

b. Praying regularly. Is this...?

49 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

24 Important but not essential
26 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

c. Being honest at all times. Is this...?

65 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

31 Important but not essential
4 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

d. Being grateful for what you have. Is this...?

67 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

28 Important but not essential
5 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

e. Buying products from companies that pay their employees a fair wage. Is this...?

16 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

50 Important but not essential
34 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

f. Working to help the poor and needy. Is this...?

47 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

44 Important but not essential
8 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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g. Not losing your temper in the face of frustration. Is this...?

31 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

52 Important but not essential
16 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

h. Resting on the Sabbath. Is this...?

14 Essential to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you

37 Important but not essential
48 Not important to what being [Catholic/Christian/a moral person] means to you
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B17 Just in your own words, is there anything else that is an essential part of what being
Catholic/Christian/a moral person means to you

[NOTE: RESULTS DO NOT SUM TO 100% OR TO SUBTOTALS INDICATED BECAUSE UP TO THREE

RESPONSES WERE CODED.]

NET General 42
Following the “golden rule”/kindness/empathy 17
Being a good person 8
Tolerance/respect 7
Helping others 6
Honesty 5
Being the best person you can/true to yourself 3
Other general beliefs/behaviors 9

NET Explicitly Religious 28

Trust in God/belief in God 10
Salvation through Jesus 8
Following the Bible/religious law 6
Faith 1
Other explicitly religious beliefs/practices 7
Unclear/Off Topic 2

No/No Answer 34

ASK ALL:
Q.B11 How often do you talk about religion with your immediate family?

32 At least once a week

14 Once or twice a month
14 Several times a year
26 Seldom
13 Never
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

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ASK ALL:
Q.B12 How often do you talk about religion with your extended family?

14 At least once a week

13 Once or twice a month
18 Several times a year
33 Seldom
21 Never
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B13 How often to do you talk about religion with people outside your family?

18 At least once a week

15 Once or twice a month
18 Several times a year
33 Seldom
16 Never
* Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK ALL:
Q.B14 What do you personally think is the BEST thing to do when someone disagrees with
you ABOUT RELIGION?

5 Try to persuade the person to change their mind

Try to understand the person’s beliefs and agree
67
to disagree
27 Avoid discussing religion with the person
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)

ASK IF CATHOLIC [N=634]:

[RANDOMIZE ORDER OF Q.C1A THROUGH Q.C1D]
Q.C1A How much do you, personally, look to THE BIBLE for guidance on difficult moral
questions?

Catholics
15 A great deal
26 Some
26 Not much
29 Not at all
0 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)
3 Undesignated2

2For some questions asked of a subset of eligible respondents and filtered on previous questions subject to backcoding, the term
“undesignated” is used to denote those respondents who did not receive the question even though they should have received it.

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Q.C1B How much do you, personally, look to YOUR OWN CONSCIENCE for guidance on
difficult moral questions?

Catholics
73 A great deal
18 Some
4 Not much
2 Not at all
0 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)
3 Undesignated

Q.C1C How much do you, personally, look to THE POPE for guidance on difficult moral
questions?

Catholics
11 A great deal
30 Some
28 Not much
28 Not at all
1 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)
3 Undesignated

Q.C1D How much do you, personally, look to THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S TEACHINGS for
guidance on difficult moral questions?

Catholics
21 A great deal
34 Some
24 Not much
17 Not at all
0 Don’t Know/Refused (VOL)
3 Undesignated

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PEW RESEARCH CENTER

2014 RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE STUDY (RLS-II)

TOPLINE
June 4-September 30, 2014
N=35,071

Note: figures may not sum to 100, and nested figures may not sum to subtotals indicated, due to
rounding. Some questions previously released with first or second report on the Religious Landscape
Study’s findings.

ASK ALL:
Q.A1 Generally, how would you say things are these days in your life – would you say that you are very
happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?

Don’t know/
Very Pretty Not too Refused
happy happy happy (VOL) Total
Total 32 52 14 2 100
Evangelical tradition 35 49 14 2 100
Mainline tradition 32 53 13 2 100
Historically black Protestant tradition 33 50 15 2 100
Catholic 35 47 15 3 100
Mormon 36 52 10 2 100
Orthodox Christian 28 58 11 4 100
Jehovah’s Witness 33 44 20 3 100
Other Christian 31 50 14 5 100
Jewish 33 52 13 2 100
Muslim 35 53 10 2 100
Buddhist 26 61 11 2 100
Hindu 29 61 9 1 100
Other faiths 25 56 15 4 100
Unaffiliated 29 56 13 2 100

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ASK ALL:
Q.A2 Next, are you satisfied or dissatisfied, on the whole, with [INSERT; RANDOMIZE]. And are you
satisfied or dissatisfied with [INSERT NEXT ITEM]. REQUIRED PROBE: Would you say you
are VERY (dis)satisfied or SOMEWHAT (dis)satisfied?

a. Your family life

Don’t
know/
Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Refused
satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied (VOL) Total
Total 69 21 5 3 2 100
Evangelical tradition 70 19 5 3 2 100
Mainline tradition 72 20 4 2 2 100
Historically black Protestant trad. 63 25 6 4 3 100
Catholic 72 19 4 2 3 100
Mormon 77 17 3 2 1 100
Orthodox Christian 64 29 3 3 2 100
Jehovah’s Witness 67 21 6 5 2 100
Other Christian 69 20 4 4 2 100
Jewish 68 22 5 4 1 100
Muslim 68 23 5 2 3 100
Buddhist 59 26 6 6 2 100
Hindu 67 26 2 3 3 100
Other faiths 58 24 8 6 4 100
Unaffiliated 65 23 6 3 2 100

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ASK ALL:
Q.A2 Next, are you satisfied or dissatisfied, on the whole, with [INSERT; RANDOMIZE]. And are you
satisfied or dissatisfied with [INSERT NEXT ITEM]. REQUIRED PROBE: Would you say you
are VERY (dis)satisfied or SOMEWHAT (dis)satisfied?

b. Your health

Don’t
know/
Very Somewhat Somewhat Very Refused
satisfied satisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied (VOL) Total
Total 52 30 10 6 2 100
Evangelical tradition 50 30 11 8 2 100
Mainline tradition 52 31 9 6 2 100
Historically black Protestant trad. 52 28 11 7 2 100
Catholic 53 29 9 5 3 100
Mormon 51 32 9 6 2 100
Orthodox Christian 55 34 7 3 1 100
Jehovah’s Witness 39 27 17 16 2 100
Other Christian 43 38 11 6 2 100
Jewish 50 33 10 6 1 100
Muslim 57 32 6 3 2 100
Buddhist 48 31 13 7 2 100
Hindu 55 33 10 1 1 100
Other faiths 47 33 11 7 2 100
Unaffiliated 53 31 9 5 2 100

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ASK ALL:
Q.I3 Thinking specifically about just the past week, that is the past seven days – did you yourself happen
to do any volunteer work in the last seven days, or not?

Yes, did volunteer work in past seven days

No, did not do volunteer work in the past seven days

Don’t
Yes, did volunteer No, did not do know/
work in past seven volunteer work in Refused
days past seven days (VOL) Total
Total 33 67 * 100
Evangelical tradition 37 63 * 100
Mainline tradition 35 65 * 100
Historically black Protestant tradition 32 68 * 100
Catholic 29 71 * 100
Mormon 59 41 * 100
Orthodox Christian 36 64 0 100
Jehovah’s Witness 53 47 * 100
Other Christian 41 59 0 100
Jewish 39 61 * 100
Muslim 33 67 0 100
Buddhist 34 66 0 100
Hindu 27 73 0 100
Other faiths 38 62 * 100
Unaffiliated 27 73 * 100

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ASK ALL:
Q.I3 Thinking specifically about just the past week, that is the past seven days – did you yourself happen
to do any volunteer work in the last seven days, or not?

ASK IF VOLUNTEERED IN LAST SEVEN DAYS:

Q.I3b And was that mainly through a church or other religious organization, or not? [INTERVIEWER
INSTRUCTION: IF R SAYS THEY ONLY VOLUNTEERED THROUGH
CHURCH/OTHER RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION, RECORD AS CODE 1]

Yes, volunteered mainly through church/other religious organization

No, volunteering was not done mainly through church/other religious organization

NET Yes, did volunteer

No, not Both through
Yes, mainly mainly religious No, did Don’t
through through organization not do know/
church/ church/ and DK/ volunteer Refused
religious religious in other way Ref work (VOL)
organization organization (VOL) (VOL) (in Q.I3) (in Q.I3) Total
Total 10 22 1 * 67 * 100
Evangelical tradition 15 21 1 * 63 * 100
Mainline tradition 10 24 1 * 65 * 100
Historically black Protestant tradition 11 20 1 * 68 * 100
Catholic 9 20 1 * 71 * 100
Mormon 31 24 4 0 41 * 100
Orthodox Christian 14 22 1 0 64 0 100
Jehovah’s Witness 42 10 1 0 47 * 100
Other Christian 7 34 0 0 59 0 100
Jewish 7 31 1 0 61 * 100
Muslim 7 24 1 1 67 0 100
Buddhist 8 25 1 0 66 0 100
Hindu 7 20 1 0 73 0 100
Other faiths 3 33 1 * 62 * 100
Unaffiliated 2 24 * * 73 * 100
Based on total.

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