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	% Change
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	+0	+123	+439.3%
Alliance of Baptists	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
American Association of Lutheran Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
American Baptist Association, The	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	-46	-2,954	-25.4%
American Baptist Churches in the USA	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	-98	-56,135	-32.8%
Anglican Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	---	---	---
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, The	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+1	-1,498	-13.0%
Apostolic Christian Church of America, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+0	+6	+4.5%
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)	+3	-23,740	-81.3%
Armenian Church of North America (Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin)	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+5	+8,845	+36.8%
Armenian Evangelical Churches (Additional)	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Assemblies of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	+38	+38,225	+12.3%
Assemblies of God International Fellowship	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+8	+120	+29.6%
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	+2	---	---
Association of Messianic Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Bahá'í	Other	Other Groups	-42	+4,789	+19.3%
Brethren Church, The (Ashland, Ohio)	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+1	+382	+310.6%
Brethren In Christ Church	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+0	---	---
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Calvary Chapel Fellowship Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	+79	---	---
Catholic Church	Catholic	Catholicism	+0	+154,024	+1.5%
Christian and Missionary Alliance, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	+29	+17,388	+39.5%
Christian Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	Ind. Fundamentalist	---	---	---
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)	Mainline Protestant	Baptist	+42	-11,772	-33.9%
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	-14	-1,450	-1.7%
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church	Black Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Christian Reformed Church in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+34	+3,563	+15.3%
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	-19	+2,419	+13.3%
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	+29	+1,989	+8.4%
Church of God (Seventh Day)	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	---	---	---
Church of God General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	+0	-20	-29.9%
Church of God in Christ	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+4	+3	+0.3%
Church of God of Prophecy	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	-8	-169	-2.5%
Church of God of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The	Other	Latter-day Saints	+46	+234,243	+44.2%
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Church of the Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	-5	-1,449	-36.4%
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	+24	-2,807	-3.1%
Church of the United Brethren in Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	-75	-9,987	-12.0%
Churches of God, General Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+0	-30	-5.4%
Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Community of Christ	Other	Latter-day Saints	-14	+482	+7.9%
Conservative Baptist Association of America	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	+11	---	---
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	-3	-2,800	-32.7%
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	-4	-32,929	-47.3%
Coptic Orthodox Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+18	---	---
Cumberland Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+0	-201	-17.4%
Episcopal Church	Mainline Protestant	Episcopalianism/Anglicanism	-40	-38,186	-22.6%
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	+53	+19,990	+58.8%
Evangelical Free Church of America, The	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	+5	+5,380	+9.9%
Evangelical Friends Church International*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Lutheran	-18	-47,202	-27.6%
Evangelical Lutheran Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Evangelical Methodist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	---	---	---
Evangelical Presbyterian Church	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+11	+7,551	+485.0%
Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	+8	-10,953	-9.4%
Free Methodist Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	-3	+826	+7.0%
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	-2	---	---
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)	+1	+3,453	+9.9%
Holy Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+1	+25	+15.2%
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	---	---	---
International Churches of Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	+2	-11,207	-55.6%
International Council of Community Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	-12	---	---
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	-5	+1,055	+8.4%
Jain	Other	Other Groups	-2	---	---
Jehovah's Witnesses	Other	Adventist	---	---	---
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	---	---	---
Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	-9	-25,252	-19.4%
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Macedonian Orthodox Church: American Diocese	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+0	-300	-50.0%
Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+1	+270	+300.0%
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+3	+240	+45.7%
Mennonite Christian Fellowship*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Mennonite Church USA	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+0	+523	+20.1%
Metropolitan Community Churches, Universal Fellowship of	Mainline Protestant	Other Groups	-9	-907	-32.4%
Missionary Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	+15	+335	+3.6%
Moravian Church in America--Northern Province	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	+0	-4	-1.2%
Muslim Estimate	Other	Other Groups	+83	+13,052	+5.0%
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	-4	-2,166	-24.2%
National Association of Free Will Baptists	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	-10	-856	-22.0%
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 Spiritualist Association of Churches	Other	Spiritualist	---	---	---
New Apostolic Church of North America, National Organization of the	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
New Testament Association of Independent Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Non-denominational	Evangelical Protestant	----	---	---	---
North American Baptist Conference	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	+10	+1,008	+6.0%
North American Lutheran Church	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	---	---	---
Open Bible Standard Churches, Inc.	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
Orthodox Church in America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+18	-256	-4.2%
Orthodox Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	-7	-648	-17.3%
Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+0	---	---
Pentecostal Church of God	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	-20	+2,510	+9.8%
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	-31	-59,277	-25.8%
Presbyterian Church in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+30	+1,397	+14.0%
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.	Black Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Protestant Reformed Churches in America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+0	-6	-2.4%
Reconstructionist Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reform Judaism	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Reformed Baptist Churches	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	+5	---	---
Reformed Church in America	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+3	-4,418	-12.2%
Reformed Church in the United States	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+4	+70	+7.5%
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	---	---	---
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in Americas	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+4	+1,112	+253.9%
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+1	---	---
Salvation Army	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	-31	-9,992	-20.3%
Serbian Orthodox Church in North America	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+7	+1,381	+19.0%
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA and Canada	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	---	---	---
Seventh-day Adventist Church	Evangelical Protestant	Adventist	+97	+27,577	+14.7%
Sikh	Other	Other Groups	+2	---	---
Southern Baptist Convention	Evangelical Protestant	Baptist	+755	+18,834	+4.0%
Swedenborgian Church	Other	Spiritualist	---	---	---
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+1	-260	-3.5%
Tao	Other	Other Groups	-3	---	---
U.S. Mennonite Brethren	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	+8	+2,469	+21.1%
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	+0	-748	-57.2%
Unaffiliated Conservative Amish Mennonite Church*	Evangelical Protestant	European Free-Church	---	---	---
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations	Other	Judaism	---	---	---
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations	Other	Liberal	-2	+587	+3.9%
United Catholic Church, Inc.	Catholic	Catholicism	---	---	---
United Church of Christ	Mainline Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	-10	-8,096	-16.0%
United Holy Church of America, Inc.	Black Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Methodist Church, The	Mainline Protestant	Methodist/Pietist	-43	+3,555	+1.6%
United Pentecostal Church International	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	---	---	---
United Reformed Churches in North America	Evangelical Protestant	Presbyterian-Reformed	+4	---	---
Unity Churches, Association of	Other	Other Groups	---	---	---
Vicariate for the Palestinian/Jordanian Orthodox Christian Communities	Orthodox	Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)	---	---	---
Vineyard USA	Evangelical Protestant	Pentecostal	-26	+1,040	+3.5%
Wesleyan Church, The	Evangelical Protestant	Holiness	+16	-10,329	-43.3%
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod	Evangelical Protestant	Lutheran	+2	-954	-10.7%
Zoroastrian	Other	Other Groups	-3	---	---
		Totals:	+906	+200,883	+1%

The population of California was 37,253,956 in 2010; in 2000 it was 33,871,648. The total population changed 10.0%. The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (16,765,751) included 45.0% of the total population in 2010.

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.