How views on the Supreme Court, same-sex marriage and religion have changed in 20 years

September 18, 2024

The Pew Research Center was launched 20 years ago and has garnered some fascinating insights into how U.S. public opinion has shifted during that time.

Kelsey Dallas, writing for the Deseret News, took a closer look at how Americans’ views on religion have changed over the past two decades.

One of the major shifts documented by Pew Research has been the growth of the religiously unaffiliated (the “nones”) since 2007. The number of U.S. adults who identify as “nones” has soared from 16% in 2007 to 28% today.

According to Jenn Hatfield, an editor for Pew, this means that religions nones are now one of the largest religious groups in the U.S., second only to Protestants but significantly ahead of Catholics.

Other faith-related shifts include a loss of trust in major institutions like the U.S. Supreme Court and federal government. That loss of trust in institutions may be a contributing factor to the shrinking interest in joining churches.

Pew researchers also found that adults are spending more time online and are more politically polarized over religion-related issues like abortion.

Researchers also found that support for same sex marriage doubled between 2004 and 2023 soaring from 31% to 63%.

Photo: top, Credit: Michael Brandy/Deseret News