A majority of Americans report that religion plays a “very important” role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed nations. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including imports spanning the country’s multicultural heritage as well as those founded within the country, and have led the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in the world.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is the largest Roman Catholic church in the United States.

The majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians (76%), while non-Chrisdan religions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and others) collecdvely make up about 4% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population identified as having no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the “Unchurched Belt”）report a belief in God, yet in the South (the “Bible Belt”）the figure is as hi^i as 86%.

In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed ri^it provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Freedom of religion is also closely associated with separation of church and state, a concept advocated by Thomas Jefferson.

The modem legal concept of religious freedom as the union of freedom of belief and freedom of worship with the absence of any state -sponsored religion, originated in the United States of America.

The no religious test clause of the US. Consdtudon states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Although it has become tradition for US presidents to end their Presidential Oath with “so help me God' this is not required by the Constitution. However, the Vice President, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the members of the Cabinet, and all other dvil and military officers and federal employees other than the President arc required to take an oath ending with “so help me God.”

Main Religious Preferences of Americans

According to a 2007 Pew Research Center survey, the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States:

• Christianity: (78.5%) o Protestantism (51.3%) o Roman Catholicism (23.9%) o Mormonism (1.7%)
Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%)
o Orthodox Church (0.6%) o other Christian (0.3%)
• UnafiBliated, including atheist or agnostic (16.1%)
• Judaism (1.7%)
• Buddhist (0.7%)
• Islam (0.6%)
• Hinduism (0.4%)
• other (1.2%)
percentage of Americans More recent studies show that the overall Christians is sliding. Christianity in the United States has become more polarized with the numbers of evangelical Christians increased which, according to the studies，also contributed to the increasing numbers of Americans who are rejecting religion completely. Around half of American adults leave the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether.