WASHINGTON (Xinhua) -- Americans have become less Christian than they were 20 years ago due to a growing rejection of religions, a survey published yesterday found.
Three out of four Americans now call themselves Christians, according to the American Religious Identification Survey by Trinity College in Connecticut.
In 1990, the figure was closer to nine out of 10 -- 86 percent.
At the same time there has been an increase in the number of people expressing no religious affiliation.
In the survey, one in five Americans said they have no religious identity or refused to answer the question on their religious belief, while more than 25 percent do not expect to have a religious funeral.
In comparison, less than 10 percent said they have no religious belief in 1990.
The survey also finds:
The percentage of Catholics in the United States has remained steady at about one in four since 1990, while the percentage of other Christians has plummeted from 60 percent to 50 percent.
The percentage of Muslims has doubled since 1990, but remains statistically very small, at 0.6 percent of the population.
The survey polled 54,461 Americans between February and November of last year.
The survey is the third in a series, following polls in 1990 and 2001.
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