So what do the numbers tell us about the Church in America?<\/p>\n
Overall, the Church\u2019s influence on Americans is beginning to fade. A growing number of Americans have given up on God\u201d\u201dor at least on organized religion. They have become \u201cNones,\u201d\u009d a term popularized by Pew Research. And their numbers are growing.<\/p>\n
Pew\u2019s 2007 Religious Landscape study, which surveyed 35,000 respondents, found that about 16% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. By 2015, that number had grown to 23%, almost one in four Americans.<\/p>\n
Gallup, another well-respected national firm, gives a wider view of the rise of the Nones. In 1967, Gallup found that about 2% of Americans\u201d\u201dor 1 out of every 50\u201d\u201dclaimed no religious preference. By 2014, that number had grown to 16%, or about 1 in 7.<\/p>\n