The Pew Research Center’s finding that only 48% of LGBTQ Americans identify with a religion underscores a major schism between organized faith and the queer community. This statistic reveals that more than half of LGBTQ adults are religiously unaffiliated—a rate double that of the general public—reflecting a deep, painful history of rejection. For many, this disaffiliation is a direct result of churches and religious doctrines being weaponized against their identities.
The survey confirms this trauma, noting that 46% of LGBTQ individuals feel religion causes more harm than good in society. Yet, the report also illustrates that loss of religious commitment does not mean a loss of spirituality. While attendance and personal importance of religion are low, a majority of queer Americans still believe in a soul or a higher spiritual reality. This suggests that the search for meaning persists, but it has shifted away from traditional, often hostile, institutions and toward personal, uninstitutionalized forms of faith.
