Democrats are significantly less religious than Republicans by several major measures, and the gaps widen sharply when race and ethnicity are factored in, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center.
The analysis found that 52% of Republicans pray daily, compared with 35% of Democrats. Forty-one percent of Republicans attend religious services at least monthly, versus 24% of Democrats. Nearly half of Republicans (48%) say religion is important in their lives, compared with 28% of Democrats, and two-thirds of Republicans say they believe in God with absolute certainty, while 41% of Democrats say the same.
Pew collected the data between July 17, 2023, and March 4, 2024, as part of its 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study, which surveyed 36,908 U.S. adults.
Pew used a combined religiosity index — based on belief in God, prayer frequency, worship attendance, and views on religion’s importance — to sort Americans into “high,” “medium,” and “low” categories of religiousness. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to fall in the “high” group, while Democrats are more than twice as likely to score “low.”
About four in five Republicans identify with a religion, compared with roughly three in five Democrats. Among Republicans, 74% identify as Christian and 5% with another religion. Among Democrats, about half identify as Christian, and 9% affiliate with another faith tradition.
Religiosity by race among Democrats
Pew found the widest divides within the Democratic Party, where religiosity varies sharply by race and ethnicity. White and Asian Democrats report the lowest levels of belief, prayer, worship attendance, and religious importance, while Black and Hispanic Democrats report much higher levels on nearly every measure.
Just 29% of white Democrats and 29% of Asian Democrats say they believe in God or a “universal spirit” with absolute certainty. Both groups report notably lower rates of prayer and monthly worship attendance, according to Pew.
Black Democrats stand out as the most religious bloc in the party: three in four say they believe in God with absolute certainty, and majorities pray daily and attend religious services more often than other Democratic subgroups.
Hispanic Democrats fall in the middle. Forty-eight percent say they believe in God or a “universal spirit” with absolute certainty, making them more observant than white or Asian Democrats but less so than black Democrats.
These gaps appear clearly on Pew’s combined religiosity index. 74% of black Democrats rank at least medium-high, while only 26% of white Democrats fall in the same range.
Religious affiliation also splits sharply by race. Seventy-nine percent of black Democrats identify with a religion, most of them Christian (76%). Sixty-seven percent of Hispanic Democrats affiliate with a religion, followed by 60% of Asian Democrats. White Democrats are nearly evenly divided between those who identify with a faith and those who call themselves atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” with only 42% identifying as Christian.
Religiosity by race among Republicans
Pew found far more uniformity on the Republican side. White, black, and Hispanic Republicans report similar levels of religious belief and practice, with about two-thirds in each group saying they believe in God with absolute certainty. Asian Republicans are somewhat less religious overall, with 46% saying they believe in God with absolute certainty, according to the data.
A majority of each Republican racial group ranks in the high or medium-high categories on Pew’s religiosity index: 63% of white Republicans, 64% of black Republicans and Hispanic Republicans, and 53% of Asian Republicans.
When it comes to religious affiliation, 81% of white Republicans identify with a religion (78% naming Christianity), along with 75% of Hispanic Republicans (70% Christian), 75% of multiracial or “other” Republicans (67% Christian), 71% of Asian Republicans (41% Christian), and 68% of Black Republicans (61% Christian).
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