Fewer NJ Residents Are Following Organized Religions, New Study Says

A growing number of New Jersey residents are identifying as “religiously unaffiliated,” researchers say.

The Pew Research Center recently released its latest Religious Landscape Study, which includes data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Learn more about its methodology here.

In New Jersey, about 27 percent of adults said they are either atheists (5%), agnostics (6%) or “nothing in particular” (17%) when it comes to their religious beliefs, according to data from 2023-2024, the most recent years available.

That number is up from 2014, when only 18 percent of Garden State residents said they aren’t affiliated with any specific religion, and 2007, when 12 percent said they are religiously unaffiliated.

However, about 80 percent of New Jersey residents say they believe in “something spiritual beyond the natural world” – even if we can’t see it, pollsters said.

For those who participate in organized religions, the numbers break down as follows:

• Christian (all denominations) – 59%
• Jewish – 5%
• Hindu – 3%
• Muslim – 2%
• Buddhist – less than 1%

The margin of error in New Jersey is ±4.4 percentage points, the Pew Research Center noted.

Nationwide, about 29 percent of people said they are religiously unaffiliated in 2023-2024, up from 23 percent in 2014 and 16 percent in 2007.

Despite the growing number of atheists and agnostics in New Jersey, many residents are still carving out an important place for religion, pollsters say.

New Jersey currently ranks as the 27th “most religious” state nationwide, according to the Pew Research Center. About 34 percent of residents said religion is “very important” in their lives, 31 percent said they attend religious services at least once a month, and 42 percent said they pray every day.

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