These 20 least religious cities in the United States probably have the most people that don’t attend church. Religion remains a hot topic in all platforms today, especially the internet. Just one mention of something spiritual or religion related can spark an endless debate with most people not agreeing with one another. Religion remains a sensitive topic. One of the things that damages it the most, is the presence of extremists that seem to pour out a lot of hate and negativity, opposite to what most groups do. Though the US remains relatively high in terms of people who are religious, the rate of unaffiliated citizens seems to be slowly increasing with each year.
You may find that this list is the complete opposite of The Most Religious Cities in America. Unlike those cities, the cities here are often found with people who don’t necessarily affirm with a religion. This doesn’t mean that their beliefs are non-existent but they probably have difference in opinions compared to most religions which is why they’ve declared themselves as such. It seems that most of the time, too much diversity in terms of religion has left some confused and others mislead.
bofotolux/Shutterstock.com
Insider Monkey has compiled and ranked this list based on a study done by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Pew Research Center on the terms of religious affiliation. The studies were done in 2014 and is the most recent and complete study on religious affiliation. We take into account how much of each city has declared unaffiliated with any religion. Let’s find out more as we explore these 20 least religious cities in the United States.
20. Cincinnati
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 19%
The number of adults who’ve declared themselves as unaffiliated seems to have been increasing. There is a current trend in the south among millennials declaring themselves as not related to any religious organizations in the area.
photo.ua/Shutterstock.com
19. Philadelphia
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 20%
Large shares of most religions are declining in areas like Philadelphia and this is especially true for the Christian denomination. Similar to that of cities like Cincinnati, Philadelphia has seen an increase of adults not declaring themselves as part of any religion.
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com
18. Kansas City
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 20%
Interviews and surveys in the Kansas City Area have revealed an increase of people not identifying with any set of religion as well. People who’ve declared themselves as Agnostic or Atheists also climb up a notch. This is even considering the fact that most of these people had parents that regularly attended a church.
17. Chicago
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 20%
Around 23 states of the US have declared their major religion as “unaffiliated” and Chicago comprises one of the cities that have increased this number. According to some reports from the Chicago Tribune it is because most people find it easier to not conform to a fixed religious organization.
16. Miami
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 21%
It seems that the trend of religiously unaffiliated or “Nones” has been present in the US for a few years now. For the past five years there has been a rise of around 5% among those declaring themselves as unaffiliated or having no religion in particular.
15. St. Louis
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 22%
With the number of people unaffiliated increasing, churches in places like St. Louis have been actively trying to win back people. This is because most of these people haven’t really rejected religion, in fact, a majority of them believe they are religious or spiritual.
14. Washington D.C.
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 23%
Even at the nation’s capital, nearly a quarter of their citizens remain unaffiliated in terms of religion. The drop of affiliation in Washington interestingly translated in a larger diversity of religion with numerous names and associations popping up each year.
13. Minneapolis
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 23%
Despite the drop in affiliation across all categories of age, race, and locations in America, many believe that this lack in identification is only temporary. Most of the time, people who are unaffiliated early in life, tend to find direction later on. There are also cases where loved ones influence their religious decisions later in life.
12. Milwaukee
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 23%
In places like Milwaukee, gatherings and associations have been taking place among those who are unaffiliated. Seminars, speakers and programs are rising about to attract atheists and free thinkers. This is attested by numerous websites and posts popping op online.
11. Las Vegas
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 23%
Termed by some as the city of sin or the wedding capital, Las Vegas finds itself on similar ground with most cities having almost a quarter of their population unaffiliated to any religion. While a large portion of the city remains Catholic, the unaffiliated only trail behind by around 10%.
The higher percentages are yet to come. Let’s continue this list of 20 least religious cities in the United States.
10. Los Angeles
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 24%
In Los Angeles around 41% of those unaffiliated are aged from 18-29. More than half of them are men and majority of them are white. Interestingly, most of them also have a lack in education, with around 40% of them being either high school graduates or less. 42% of them have also never married.
9. Detroit
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 24%
In order to revitalize churches in Detroit there has been a movement called the “Mass Mob”. They harken themselves as similar to “Flash Mobs” in terms of having a large group or mob participate. Instead of doing a performance however they are attending churches to fill them up and liven the environment.
8. Columbus
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 24%
Unlike some cities in this list that still have majority in a certain religious affiliation, Columbus finds itself as one of the cities where the unaffiliated fill the majority. One of the reasons for this maybe the lack of religious venues in the city compared to other places in the US.
7. Boston
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 24%
Boston is a good example of diversity among the unaffiliated with most of them here from the ages 30-49. Majority of them are also women, unlike most cities in the US. White is still the majority race among them and there is an equal amount of those married and never married that declared. Around 30% of them have also finished college which is the majority.
6. Tampa
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 25%
The unaffiliated in Tampa account for a quarter of their population with evangelical Protestants close behind at 20%. There has been controversy in the area with some extreme opinions pointing to people avoiding Tampa due to the large religious discrepancy in terms of these numbers.
5. Phoenix
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 26%
The unaffiliated in Phoenix is the highest it’s ever been and for many it is because they find religious institutions no longer relevant. Others find them damaging to their beliefs. There has been, however, an increase of people who declare themselves as spiritual and one of the reasons for the high urban population density is because people also want to avoid suburban extremist churches.
4. Denver
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 32%
Denver is one of the cities that make Colorado as one of the least religious regions in the country. It is interesting to note that because of this high unaffiliated rate, more and more studies are trying to relate the behavior to other things like politics or environment.
3. Seattle
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 33%
There are almost an equal amount of men and women among those who comprise the 33% unaffiliated in Seattle. A lot of them are also married, though larger percentages of high school or lesser graduates occupy those that declared not being part of any religious organization.
2. San Francisco
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 33%
The unaffiliated are also the largest group in San Francisco with around 26% of Catholics trailing behind. Like Seattle, there is almost an equal amount of men and women comprising this group. One thing that differentiates San Francisco is that most of these unaffiliated are high earners.
1. Portland
Percentage of Unaffiliated: 42%
The city that is least religious due to a high percentage of unaffiliated is Portland. Almost half of their population is declared unaffiliated and the difference between Portland and the next city is a large 9%. It is said that Portland isn’t the only city like this in Oregon but most cities and areas of the state as well.
One of the main reasons why a lack of affiliation is popular in today’s society is because a lot of religious groups often associate and adhere to beliefs and practices that often don’t feel right for people. Often times, people search for spirituality and go to church in search of answers for their problems. When the institution they attend, however, discourages or gives them guilt, they then find themselves not wanting to attend other ones as well.
This is not of course considering the fact that there are some people who genuinely believe in being agnostic or atheist. The real sad thing about all of this is that people are more concerned about debating each of their beliefs than just getting along and respecting each others’ views. People will discover and set their heart and mind on something on their own terms. If history’s any indication, you cannot change people’s minds by convincing or debating with them. You must let them come on their own terms to accept what they want to accept.
This has been the 20 least religious cities in the United States. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you.
