The proportion of Democrats who identify as religious is steadily declining. According to a Gallup poll, the number of religious Democrats has fallen by 23 per cent in 24 years.

The percentage of Democrats who identify as religious has dropped more than 20 points between 1999 and 2023, a recent Gallup survey found.

When Gallup first polled on the topic in 1999, 60 percent of Democrats identified as religious, as did 62 percent of Republicans. Since then, the percentage of religious Democrats has fallen 23 points to 37 percent.

Gallup Poll: The percentage of Democrats who identify as religious has dropped 23 points in two decades, while religious identification among Republicans and independents has stayed roughly the same.

At the same time, Democrats have become more „spiritual,” and the „neither”… pic.twitter.com/5ssmODBgDV

— Katherine Hamilton (@thekat_hamilton) September 23, 2023

“During that time, the percentage of Democrats identifying as spiritual but not religious has increased 14 points, while the percentage saying they are neither has tripled,” the survey found.

At the same time, “there has been no meaningful change in Republicans’ self-identification as religious or spiritual,” and independents have only experienced a modest change. Sixty-one percent of Republicans identify as religious compared to 62 percent in 1999.

Overall, 47 percent of Americans identify as religious, 33 percent say they are spiritual but not religious, and two percent say they are both.

“The decline in Americans identifying as religious is consistent with the trends for other Gallup measures of religiosity and religious practice, particularly in the past two decades. However, Gallup has documented steeper declines in formal religious practice (church attendance and church membership) than in belief in God and prayer,” the report states.

Indeed, a Gallup poll from June 2022 found that belief in God has fallen the most in recent years among young adults and people on the left of the political spectrum.

“These groups show drops of ten or more percentage points comparing the 2022 figures to an average of the 2013-2017 polls,” that survey found. “Most other key subgroups have experienced at least a modest decline, although conservatives and married adults have had essentially no change.”

“The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62 percent), young adults (68 percent) and Democrats (72 percent). Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94 percent) and Republicans (92 percent), reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the U.S.,” the survey report continues.