Liberal Family
The Liberal family churches and associations stress the primacy of reason and experience over the authority of doctrine and sacred texts. It emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in hopes of making Christianity more relevant to modern times (Reid et al. 1990: 646). The Unitarian-Universalist Association and the American Ethical Union are two examples of such groups.
Maps: Liberal Family1
Adherence Rate per 1,000 (2020)
Congregations (2020)
Top 5 Liberal Family States (2020)1 [View all states]
| Rank | State | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 2,671 | 4.20 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 26,379 | 3.80 |
| 3 | District Of Columbia | 1,998 | 2.90 |
| 4 | Maine | 3,481 | 2.60 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 3,052 | 2.20 |
Top 5 Liberal Family Counties (2020)1 [View all counties]
| Rank | County | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson County, Washington | 582 | 17.60 |
| 2 | Los Alamos County, New Mexico | 325 | 16.70 |
| 3 | Calumet County, Wisconsin | 693 | 13.20 |
| 4 | Windsor County, Vermont | 649 | 11.20 |
| 5 | Charlottesville city, Virginia | 495 | 10.60 |
Top 5 Liberal Family Metro Areas (2020)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro Area | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Alamos, NM Micro Area | 325 | 16.70 |
| 2 | Barre, VT Micro Area | 522 | 8.70 |
| 3 | Brevard, NC Micro Area | 242 | 7.30 |
| 4 | Barnstable Town, MA Metro Area | 1,318 | 5.80 |
| 5 | Hood River, OR Micro Area | 127 | 5.30 |
Liberal Family: Adherence Rates (1980 - 2020)1
| Group | Tradition | Adh. Rate 2020 | Adh. Rate 2010 | Adh. Rate 2000 | Adh. Rate 1990 | Adh. Rate 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Ethical Union | Other | |||||
| Unitarian Universalist Association | Other Christians | 0.61 | 0.69 | 0.65 | 0.76 | 0.69 |
Sources
1 The 2020 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include data for 372 religious bodies or groups. Of these, the ASARB was able to gather data on congregations and adherents for 217 and on congregations only for 155. [More information on the data sources]
