Source: The Houston Chronicle
On September 28, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "despite the difficulties of collecting data, the numbers in the census released last week reveal the strength of religion county-by-county across America. The report said that 141.3 million people, or 50.2 percent of the U.S. population, were involved with churches, synagogues, mosques or temples. That makes the United States one of the most religious nations in the world, said Houseal, a statistician for the Church of the Nazarene. However, the number does not reflect the entire religious community. Eastern religions and some major African-American denominations are not counted in the study. Furthermore, substantial numbers of Americans who identify with denominations do not affiliate with a local church. National surveys indicate that only 7 percent of Americans describe themselves as having no religious affiliation."