Americans Confused About the Number of Protestants, Atheists, Mormons, and Muslims

By Joe Carter

According to the study done by Grey Matter Research and Consulting, the typical American adult estimates the religious affiliation in the U.S. as follows:  24% Catholic, 20% Protestant, 19% unaffiliated, 9% Jewish, 9% atheist or agnostic, 7% Muslim, 7% Mormon, and 5% from all other religious groups.

The typical American badly underestimates how many Protestants there are in the country, notes the report, and overestimates the presence of religious minorities such as Mormon, Muslim, and atheist/agnostic.

Some of the more interesting findings from the survey include:

• The average American estimated the number of Protestants as 20%; the actual number is 51%.

• The average American estimated the number of those affiliated with the Jewish religion as 9%; the actual number is 2%.

• The average American estimates that 7% of the population is Muslim; the actual number is under 1%. 

• The average American estimates that 7% of the population is Mormon; the actual number is about 2%.

• The average American estimates that 9% of Americans are atheist or agnostic; the actual number is about 4%.

For more details you can check out the original research here, and to read the full article by Joe Carter follow the link below.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/09/16/americans-confused-about-the-number-of-protestants-atheists-mormons-and-muslims/