Protestants No Longer the Majority in U.S., Study Says

For the first time in its history, the United States does not have a Protestant majority, according to a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Fox News reports. The percentage of Protestant adults in the U.S. has reached a low of 48 percent, the first time the Pew Forum has reported with certainty that the number has fallen below 50 percent. The drop has long been anticipated, and comes at a time when no Protestants are on the Supreme Court and when, for the first time, no Protestants are on the Republican presidential ticket. Pew cited among the reasons for the change the growth in nondenominational Christians who can no longer be categorized as Protestant, and the rise in the number of Americans with no religious affiliation. The study found that about 20 percent of Americans say they have no religion, an increase from 15 percent in the last five years.