California

Religious Traditions, 2010

3,502,250	249,191	880,981	154,331	10,234,036	1,744,962	20,488,205
Evangelical Protestant	Black Protestant	Mainline Protestant	Orthodox	Catholic	Other	Unclaimed

Congregational adherents include all full members, their children, and others who regularly attend services. The 2010 reports contain incomplete counts of congregations and adherents belonging to the eight largest historically African-American denominations. These denominations are not included in the 2000 reports and are largely missing from the 1990 and 1980 reports.
[More information on the data sources]

Reports

Religious Bodies	Tradition	Family	Congregations	Adherents	Adherence Rate^†
African Methodist Episcopal Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	1	28	0.0
Alliance of Baptists	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
American Association of Lutheran Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
American Baptist Association, The	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	131	11,612	0.3
American Baptist Churches in the USA	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	556	170,932	5.0
Anglican Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	---	---	---
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, The	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	28	11,564	0.3
Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, North American Dioceses	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	8	7,884	0.2
Apostolic Christian Church of America, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	2	132	0.0
Apostolic Christian Churches (Nazarene)	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	10	564	0.0
Apostolic Faith Mission of Portland, OR	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Apostolic Lutheran Church of America	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Catholicosate of Cilicia)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	8	29,200	0.9
Armenian Church of North America (Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	18	24,055	0.7
Armenian Evangelical Churches (Additional)	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Assemblies of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	1,222	310,522	9.2
Assemblies of God International Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	9	405	0.0
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	5	560	0.0
Association of Messianic Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Bahá'í	Other	Other Groups	259	24,849	0.7
Baptist Missionary Association of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	15	1,697	0.1
Brethren Church, The (Ashland, Ohio)	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	4	123	0.0
Brethren In Christ Church	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	18	1,834	0.1
Buddhists	Other	Other Groups	489	---	---
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Calvary Chapel Fellowship Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	252	---	---
Catholic Church	Catholic	Catholicism	1,315	10,079,310	297.6
Christian and Missionary Alliance, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	201	44,068	1.3
Christian Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	160	34,750	1.0
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	226	84,169	2.5
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Christian Reformed Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	107	23,359	0.7
Church of Christ (Holiness), U.S.A	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	---	---	---
Church of Christ, Scientist	Other	Christian Science	---	---	---
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	141	18,215	0.5
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	193	23,558	0.7
Church of God (Seventh Day)	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	---	---	---
Church of God General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	2	67	0.0
Church of God in Christ	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	3	1,075	0.0
Church of God of Prophecy	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	124	6,672	0.2
Church of God of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The	Other	Latter-day Saints	1,316	529,575	15.6
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of the Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	29	3,983	0.1
Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Church of the Lutheran Confession	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Church of the Nazarene	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	411	89,522	2.6
Church of the United Brethren in Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	707	83,392	2.5
Churches of God, General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	8	555	0.0
Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Community of Christ	Other	Latter-day Saints	55	6,137	0.2
Congregational Christian Churches, Additional (not part of any national CCC body)	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	1	167	0.0
Conservative Baptist Association of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	215	55,435	1.6
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	12	8,555	0.3
Conservative Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Conservative Lutheran Association	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Conservative Mennonite Conference	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Converge Worldwide/Baptist General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	155	69,649	2.1
Coptic Orthodox Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	20	---	---
Cumberland Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	5	1,153	0.0
Episcopal Church	Mainline Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	449	168,895	5.0
Eritrean Orthodox	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Ethiopian Orthodox	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Evangelical Association of Reformed, and Congregational Christian Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Evangelical Covenant Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	95	33,994	1.0
Evangelical Free Church of America, The	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	175	54,227	1.6
Evangelical Friends Church International*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Lutheran	464	171,110	5.1
Evangelical Lutheran Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Evangelical Methodist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Evangelical Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	7	1,557	0.0
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	578	116,039	3.4
Free Methodist Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	94	11,749	0.3
Friends (Quakers)	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	75	9,061	0.3
Friends General Conference *	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Friends United Meeting *	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Fundamental Baptist Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	102	15,130	0.4
Georgian Orthodox Parishes in the United States	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Grace Brethren Churches, Fellowship of	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Grace Gospel Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	41	35,010	1.0
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Vasiloupulis	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	10	4,323	0.1
Hindus	Other	Other Groups	131	---	---
Holy Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	165	0.0
Hungarian Reformed Churches (Additional)	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Independent Baptist Fellowship International	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Independent Fundamental Churches of America	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Independent Yearly Meetings of Friends*	Mainline Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Independent, Charismatic Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	68	195,425	5.8
Independent, Non-Charismatic Churches	Evangelical Protestant	----	112	134,355	4.0
International Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	5	20,167	0.6
International Council of Community Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	24	5,572	0.2
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	111	12,517	0.4
Jain	Other	Other Groups	7	---	---
Jehovah's Witnesses	Other	Adventist	---	---	---
Jewish	Other	Judaism	425	994,000	29.3
Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Korean Presbyterian Church in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Korean-American Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Landmark Missionary Baptists, Independent Associations and Unaffiliated Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	12	614	0.0
Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	401	130,336	3.8
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Macedonian Orthodox Church: American Diocese	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	600	0.0
Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	90	0.0
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	525	0.0
Mennonite Christian Fellowship*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Mennonite Church USA	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	36	2,607	0.1
Mennonite; Other Groups	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	3	80	0.0
Metropolitan Community Churches, Universal Fellowship of	Mainline Protestant	Other Groups	25	2,799	0.1
Missionary Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	26	9,327	0.3
Moravian Church in America--Northern Province	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	2	345	0.0
Muslim Estimate	Other	Other Groups	163	259,762	7.7
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	33	8,965	0.3
National Association of Free Will Baptists	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	62	3,891	0.1
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Missionary Baptist Convention, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	4	1,104	0.0
National Spiritualist Association of Churches	Other	Spiritualist	---	---	---
Netherlands Reformed Congregations	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	1	15	0.0
New Apostolic Church of North America, National Organization of the	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
New Testament Association of Independent Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
New Testament Association of Independent Baptist Churches and other Fundamental Bapti	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	96	18,720	0.6
Non-denominational	Evangelical Protestant	----	---	---	---
North American Baptist Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	45	16,772	0.5
North American Lutheran Church	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Open Bible Standard Churches, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Orthodox Church in America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	25	6,075	0.2
Orthodox Church in America: Bulgarian Diocese	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	8	4,375	0.1
Orthodox Church in America: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	7	2,813	0.1
Orthodox Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	41	3,756	0.1
Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	2	---	---
Pentecostal Church of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	246	25,574	0.8
Pentecostal Fire-Baptized Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Pillar of Fire	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	---	---	---
Polish National Catholic Church	Catholic	Catholicism	---	---	---
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	584	229,918	6.8
Presbyterian Church in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	76	9,955	0.3
Primitive Baptist Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	25	---	---
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Protestant Reformed Churches in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	1	245	0.0
Reconstructionist Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reform Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reformed Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	18	---	---
Reformed Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	44	36,358	1.1
Reformed Church in the United States	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	10	931	0.0
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in Americas	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	1	438	0.0
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	22	---	---
Salvation Army	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	135	49,330	1.5
Serbian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	11	7,265	0.2
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA (New Gracanica Metropolitanate)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	5	---	---
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA and Canada	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Seventh-day Adventist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	516	187,058	5.5
Sikh	Other	Other Groups	58	---	---
Southern Baptist Convention	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	1,392	471,119	13.9
Southwide Baptist Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	5	---	---
Swedenborgian Church	Other	Spiritualist	---	---	---
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	6	7,500	0.2
Tao	Other	Other Groups	19	---	---
U.S. Mennonite Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	62	11,698	0.3
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	4	1,308	0.0
Unaffiliated Conservative Amish Mennonite Church*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations	Other	Liberal	73	15,173	0.4
United Catholic Church, Inc.	Catholic	Catholicism	---	---	---
United Church of Christ	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	244	50,493	1.5
United Holy Church of America, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Methodist Church, The	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	710	228,844	6.8
United Pentecostal Church International	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Reformed Churches in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	11	2,474	0.1
Unity Churches, Association of	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
Vicariate for the Palestinian/Jordanian Orthodox Christian Communities	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Vineyard USA	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	107	29,388	0.9
Wesleyan Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	67	23,858	0.7
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	46	8,950	0.3
Zoroastrian	Other	Other Groups	11	---	---
		Totals:	16,921	15,614,071

The population of California was 33,871,648 in 2000; in 1990 it was 29,760,021. The total population changed 13.8%. The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (15,614,071) included 46.1% of the total population in 2000.

^* In an effort to better match the ASARB standards for adherents, a few religious bodies changed the way their adherents were reported in 2010, including the Catholic Church, Amish groups, Friends groups, Jewish groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Non-denominational Christian Churches, and the United Methodist Church. This change does not affect any of the data in the newly released 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. In fact, the data for these groups are now more comparable to that of other bodies than it was in previous decadal reports.

However, the change in methodology can distort assessments on growth or decline between 2000 and 2010 for each of these groups. County-level 2000 data using the new methodology are not readily available. ASARB staff has adjusted some 2000 county-level adherent statistics to allow for a more accurate picture on growth or decline. The revised maps and charts are now available on-line at www.usreligioncensus.org for those who are interested in these trends.

Source

2010 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include statistics for 236 religious groups, providing information on the number of their congregations and adherents within each state and county in the United States. Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E. Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H. Taylor supervised the collection. These data originally appeared in 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study, published by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). [More information on the data collection]

^†The adherence rate provides the number of adherents of a particular group per 1,000 population. For example, in 2010 the Episcopal Church had an adherence rate of 7.6 in Autauga County, Alabama. This means that about 8 out of every 1,000 people in Autauga County were Episcopalian.