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Wyoming largely follows national religious trends, a new study finds

The spire of a sandstone church rises into the sky.
Jesse Morris
/
Wyoming Public Media

Last month, the Pew Research Center released the results of its Religious Landscape Study that tracks the interaction between religion and social and political views in America. Over the last two years, Pew spoke with almost 37,000 Americans to create a comprehensive picture of the nation.

The survey builds off past data from two other times a similar survey was conducted in 2007 and 2014.

“If you just look at the big picture, like how many people identify with Christianity, how many people say they have no religion, in those broad strokes, Wyoming looks a lot like the population as a whole,” said Gregory Smith, Pew’s senior associate director.

In Wyoming, 62% of people identify as Christian, which is the same as the national average. The state also saw a decline in Christianity since 2014 identical to national trends, with a 9% drop for both.

But there are some differences. Fewer than 12% of people describe themselves as Catholic in Wyoming, down five percentage points from the national average. Less than 1% identify as historically Black Protestants, four percentage points lower than the national average.

The share of people in Wyoming who Smith calls “nones” – people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular – has risen 8% since the last survey.

According to Smith, the Religious Landscape Study is meant to paint a more extensive picture of the American people.

“ The U.S. Census does not collect information about religion, so, the Religious Landscape Study is really designed and intended to help fill that gap,” he said.

The survey covers both religious and political beliefs because, according to Smith, past studies show that politics and religion are often intertwined.

“On average, the most highly religious people in the United States also tend to be the most socially and politically conservative,” he said. “This is strongest with white Americans.”

The data can be accessed on Pew’s interactive website and in a report interpreting the findings.

Corrected: March 10, 2025 at 10:34 AM MDT
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated that the number of Wyomingites that identified as Catholic was down 5% from the national average. It is, in fact, down five percentage points, not percent, from the national average. It also stated that historically Black Protestants were down 4% from the national average. They were, in fact, down four percentage points, not percent.
Jesse grew up in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada's, where he spent most of his time exploring the mountains and rivers surrounding his town. He is studying geohydrology and environmental geology with a minor in journalism at the University of Wyoming. When not reporting or at school you might catch him bouldering at the UW climbing gym or backcountry skiing in the Snowy Range.

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