Most popular religious groups in Forsyth County

This story was originally published by Stacker.

Freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right in the United States provided in the First Amendment. When compared to other countries around the world, however, the U.S. is not particularly religiously diverse.

About 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian — including all branches and denominations—and nearly 25 percent are religiously unaffiliated. The greatest religious diversity is split among the remaining 5 percent of the population. The growing number of people in the U.S. who identify as religiously unaffiliated can be attributed to people, particularly white people, disaffiliating from Christianity.

A 2022 Pew Research model based on historical religion-switching trends predicts that the share of the population identifying as either Christian or unaffiliated will be closer to 50/50 by 2070. If current trends accelerate, Christians could represent less than half of the country’s population.

At a local level, prominent religious affiliations can vary across the U.S., driven by factors like the average age of the population, cultural practices, immigrant communities, and income. Numerous studies reveal that people at lower income levels tend to be more religious than wealthier people, possibly because religion helps people cope with poverty from a psychological standpoint.

Stacker investigated the most popular religious groups in Forsyth County, NC using data from the U.S. Religion Census. Data was collected in 2020. Religions are ranked by the percentage of adherents compared to the total religious adherents in the county. Ties are broken by the total number of adherents.

Canva

#20. Presbyterian Church in America

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 0.6%
– Number of adherents in county: 1,506
– Number of congregations in county: 7

Canva

#19. Seventh-day Adventist Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 0.7%
– Number of adherents in county: 1,803
– Number of congregations in county: 5

Canva

#18. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 0.8%
– Number of adherents in county: 2,266
– Number of congregations in county: 9

Canva

#17. Churches of Christ

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 0.9%
– Number of adherents in county: 2,561
– Number of congregations in county: 12

Canva

#16. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.0%
– Number of adherents in county: 2,748
– Number of congregations in county: 11

Canva

#15. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.2%
– Number of adherents in county: 3,210
– Number of congregations in county: 6

Canva

#14. Assemblies of God

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.2%
– Number of adherents in county: 3,281
– Number of congregations in county: 7

Canva

#13. Muslim Estimate

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.4%
– Number of adherents in county: 3,756
– Number of congregations in county: 3

Canva

#12. Episcopal Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.5%
– Number of adherents in county: 3,975
– Number of congregations in county: 7

Canva

#11. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.6%
– Number of adherents in county: 4,220
– Number of congregations in county: 6

Canva

#10. Jehovah’s Witnesses

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.6%
– Number of adherents in county: 4,304
– Number of congregations in county: 16

Canva

#9. American Baptist Churches in the USA

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 1.7%
– Number of adherents in county: 4,470
– Number of congregations in county: 5

Canva

#8. Wesleyan Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 2.2%
– Number of adherents in county: 5,918
– Number of congregations in county: 8

Canva

#7. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 2.2%
– Number of adherents in county: 5,938
– Number of congregations in county: 10

Canva

#6. National Missionary Baptist Convention, Inc.

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 3.3%
– Number of adherents in county: 8,920
– Number of congregations in county: 19

Canva

#5. Moravian Church in America–Southern Province

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 3.7%
– Number of adherents in county: 10,104
– Number of congregations in county: 29

Canva

#4. Southern Baptist Convention

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 10.2%
– Number of adherents in county: 27,537
– Number of congregations in county: 69

Canva

#3. United Methodist Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 12.9%
– Number of adherents in county: 34,940
– Number of congregations in county: 60

Canva

#2. Catholic Church

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 16.6%
– Number of adherents in county: 44,916
– Number of congregations in county: 6

Canva

#1. Non-denominational Christian Churches

– Percent of total religious adherents in county: 31.3%
– Number of adherents in county: 84,780
– Number of congregations in county: 88