Cathedral of St. Augustine in Kalamazoo. Emil Lippe | MLive.com

The number of Americans unaffiliated with a religion slightly outnumber Catholics as well as Protestant evangelicals, according to the recently released 2018 results for the General Social Survey.

The survey, which is conducted every two years by the University of Chicago, showed that 23.1% of survey-takers answered "none" when asked their religion compared to 23% of those who identify as Catholic and 22.5% as evangelical.

It's yet another sign the "nones" are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population when it comes to religious identity.

In Michigan, the Catholic Church has long been the state's single-largest religious group. But the number of Catholics is shrinking.

In 2018, 18% of Michigan residents were affiliated with a Catholic parish, down from 23% in 2000, according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which collects annual data from U.S. Catholic dioceses.

Michigan residents leaving the Catholic Church as many turn away from religion

But what's happening to the Catholic Church in Michigan is not unique to Michigan nor Catholicism.

Between 1990 and 2010, the number of Episcopalian congregants in Michigan dropped by 44%. Presbyterians, down 39%. Congregationalists, down 36%. Evangelical Lutherans, down 28%. Catholics, down 27%. Southern Baptists, down 12%. United Methodists, down 9%, all according to the U.S. Religion Census, which is conducted every 10 years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

Meanwhile, the "nones" are surging in numbers, comprising 24% of adults in Michigan, according to a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Group.

Below is a closer look at what surveys tell us about who goes to church and where they go, as well as more about the "nones."

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Religious identification by county, 2010

First is a database with numbers from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census, showing the breakdown by county between Catholics, mainstream Protestants, evangelical Protestants and those with another faith, as well as the percentage not affiliated with a congregation.

If you click on "details" for a county entry, it will show the three largest denominations in that county.

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Two big caveats about the numbers:

Congregants are counted based on where they worship vs. where they live. So someone who lives in Allegan County and attends a church in Kent County will be counted as part of Kent County.

The report cautions it undercounts members for the eight largest historically African-American denominations.

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Size of statewide congregations, 2010

The next database also relies on numbers from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census, and shows the size of Michigan's religious denominations in 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Not all groups participated in the Census each year, and blanks spaces mean the numbers were not available. The 2010 Census was the first to group non-denominational evangelical church into one category.

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Interactive map of religious participation

Below is a map showing the percentage of Michigan residents affiliated with a religious congregation in 2010, including non-Christian congregations. The numbers come from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census.

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Source: U.S. Religion Survey

Once again, congregants are counted based on where they worship vs. where they live, and the report undercounts congregations and adherents for historically African-American denominations.

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Religious identity in Michigan

The chart below shows the breakdown of religious identity for Michigan adults in the 2014 Pew Research Center survey.

Unlike the U.S. Religion Census, which looked at membership in a congregation, the Pew numbers are based on how people identify themselves, regardless of whether they attend services.

About 70% of survey-takers identified themselves as Christians. Of these with a non-Christian faith, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists account for about 1% each.

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Source: Pew Research Group

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Shrinking number of white Christians

Today, only 53% of Michigan adults identify themselves as Christian and as white. Another 17% of the state’s population are Christian and non-white, most of whom are African-American or Hispanic.

About 5% of Michiganders belong to a non-Christian faith, including the state’s Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, among others.

But fastest-growing group in terms of religious identity: The “nones,” which is the quarter of the population unaffiliated with any organized religion.

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Breakdown of U.S. religious identity by age,

The next two charts show the generational shift in religious identity. About 83% of U.S. senior citizens identify as Christian compared to 55% of Americans age 18 to 29.

Meanwhile, 36% of young adults are unaffiliated with any organized religion compared to 12% of those age 65 and older.

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Source: Pew Research Group

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Who are the unaffiliated?

As a group, the “nones” are disproportionately young and are less likely to be married than those with a religious faith. However, the "nones" are about average in terms of income and educational attainment.

About 60% of the "nones" say they "disagree with a lot religious teachings," according to Pew, but two-thirds believe in God.

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Source: Pew Research Group

This chart, with numbers from the 2014 Pew survey, show that even older people unaffiliated with organized religion are less likely to be married than their church-going peers.

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Atheists and agnostics are different than other "nones"

About a quarter of the "nones" identify as atheists or agnostics.

In Michigan, about 3% of adults are atheists and 3% are agnostic.

Those two groups are demographically different than other "nones": They are more likely to be white college graduates and have an income over $100,000.

Below is a look at Pew's breakdown of Protestants, Catholics, atheists/agnostics and the remaining "nones" by race.

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Source: Pew Research Group

The chart shows that 82% of U.S. atheists/agnostics are white. By comparison, 66% percent of American adults are white.

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Religious identity and educational attainment

The next graphic compares different Christian groups with atheists/agnostics and other "nones" when it comes to educational attainment.

This graphic looks specifically at the percentage with at least a four-year college degree.

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Source: Pew Research Group

About 19% of atheists/agnostics have a graduate degree compared to 17% of white Catholics, 16% of white mainline Protestants and 9% of evangelical Protestants.

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