{"id":272936,"date":"2025-08-22T11:55:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T15:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=272936"},"modified":"2025-08-22T11:56:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T15:56:41","slug":"religion-and-spirituality-among-lgbt-americans","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/08\/22\/religion-and-spirituality-among-lgbt-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Religion and spirituality among LGBT Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) tend to be less religious than those who are not LGBT. In addition, adults who are lesbian, gay or bisexual have more negative views than other U.S. adults do about religion, though many say religion plays some<\/em> positive roles in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when it comes to some questions about spirituality \u2013 such as whether human beings have a soul or spirit \u2013 the gaps between lesbian, gay or bisexual adults and other people tend to be smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Pew Research Center analysis explores how adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender approach religion and spirituality. Our findings hold even after controlling for age and other demographic traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How we did this<\/summary>\n

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand religiousness, spirituality and views of religion among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults in the United States. The Center has long studied topics involving sexual orientation and gender identity<\/a> in America, including how LGBT adults engage with religion, as well as questions about sexual orientation\/gender identity and religion in public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis draws from a survey of 10,658 adults conducted from July 15 to Aug. 4, 2024, on the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP). It included 751 LGBT respondents; the margin of error for results based on this group is plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. The ATP is a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the\u00a0questionnaire<\/a>\u00a0for the survey and its\u00a0methodology<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis also draws from the Center\u2019s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study<\/a> (RLS). The RLS included 2,402 lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents; the margin error for results based on this group is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. The RLS used address-based sampling from the U.S. Postal Service\u2019s Delivery Sequence File to recruit participants. We surveyed respondents mainly online or on paper, though respondents could also call a toll-free number to participate by telephone.

For more details, refer to the RLS methodology<\/a>. Here are the RLS\u2019s\u00a0English<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spanish<\/a>\u00a0paper questionnaires (and the\u00a0combined English\/Spanish questionnaire for web\/phone administration<\/a>), along with\u00a0responses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both surveys are weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, education and other categories. Respondents in the ATP who are included in the LGBT category are those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Those in the non-LGBT category include those who identify as straight and are not transgender. ATP respondents who did not answer the question about sexual orientation, or selected the \u201cDon\u2019t know\u201d or \u201cSomething else\u201d response options and also did not identify as transgender, are excluded from the analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RLS did not include a question about transgender identity, so those in the \u201clesbian, gay or bisexual\u201d category include only respondents who identify as such. Those in the \u201cnot lesbian, gay or bisexual\u201d category include respondents who identify as straight. RLS respondents who did not answer the question about sexual orientation, or selected the \u201cDon\u2019t know\u201d or \u201cSomething else\u201d response options, are excluded from the analysis.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Religion among lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Americans<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Roughly half of U.S. adults who are LGBT (48%) say they identify with a religion, describing themselves as Christian, Jewish, Muslim or an adherent of another religion. By comparison, 73% of non-LGBT Americans identify with a religion, according to a Center survey conducted in summer 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, 52% of LGBT adults are religiously unaffiliated, which is about double the share of non-LGBT Americans who say the same (26%). The religiously unaffiliated category includes people who identify as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular\u201d when asked about their religion. LGBT Americans are more likely than non-LGBT adults to identify with each of these subgroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

LGBT Americans also are far less likely than non-LGBT adults to say religion is very important to them personally (17% vs. 42%). And they are about half as likely as non-LGBT adults to say they attend religious services at least monthly (16% vs. 31%) or pray daily (23% vs. 46%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, 8% of Americans are LGBT, according to our survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spirituality among adults who are lesbian, gay or bisexual<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A different Center survey \u2013 the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study<\/a> (RLS) \u2013 explored spiritual beliefs, practices and experiences among those who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual. (The RLS did not include a question about transgender identity.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being less religious, large shares of lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans hold spiritual beliefs. For example, 80% say they believe \u201cpeople have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body.\u201d And 69% believe \u201cthere is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are about as likely as other Americans to say that they do the following at least once a week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n