Religion in Oregon
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with the highest percentage of religiously unaffiliated adults in the entire nation, despite a higher average of evangelical Christians than the national average.
History
The first ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
church in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
was built in Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
starting in 1842. Completed in 1844, this Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
church was also the first Protestant church on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
of what became the United States. The first Roman Catholic official presence in Oregon was the apostolic vicariate
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
for the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
begun in 1843. By 1846, the archdiocese of Oregon
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean...
was formally established. Informally considered part of the Unchurched Belt
Unchurched Belt
Unchurched Belt refers to a region in the far Western United States that has low rates of religious participation. The term derives from Bible Belt and the notion of the unchurched....
, Oregon is known for historically having a lack of religiosity
Irreligion in the United States
Encompassing agnosticism, atheism, deism, skepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general secularism and even some forms of alternative spirituality such as New Age, various polls have put the population of "non-religious" North Americans at between 20 and 35 million...
compared to other U.S. states.
Lack of religiosity
In a different 2009 Gallup poll, Oregon was ranked as the seventh least religious state. In response to the question, "Is religion an important part of your life?", 53% of Oregonians responded "yes". The most religious state was Mississippi, with 85%, and the least religious state was Vermont, with 42%. The states less religious than Oregon, in order, are Washington, Alaska, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In a 2006 Gallup poll, Oregonians tied for seventh state with the lowest church attendance, at 32%, along with California and Washington. Church attendance ranged from 58% to 24% in the poll.
A 2003 study, released once every 10 years, listed Benton County, Oregon
Benton County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 78,153 people, 30,145 households, and 18,237 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 31,980...
as the least religious county per capita in the United States. Only 1 in 4 people indicated that they were affiliated with one of the 149 religious groups the study identified. The study indicated that some of the disparity, however, may be attributed to the popularity of less traditional religions (ones not included as an option in the study) in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Denominations
A Pew Research CenterPew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...
study reported on by The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
in February 2008, found that Oregon's largest religious group was Catholics, at 14%. All denominations of Protestant accounted for 30%, Mormons
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
for 5%, Buddhists
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
for 2%, and unaffiliated for 27%, all higher than the national average. A 2009 Gallup poll found that 69% Oregonians identified with a Christian religion.
30% of Oregonians identify themselves as evangelical Christians, higher than the national average of 26%. Oregon was lower than the national average in people who identify as mainline Protestants, historically black Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Christians
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Oregon tracks the national average in its number of Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
with 348,239; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 104,312; and the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
with 49,357.
While Oregon has higher than average rates of evangelical Christianity and Mormonism compared to mainline or orthodox sects of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, it does have a slightly higher percentage of Buddhists regardless of sect, and is part of an overall growth in Buddhists not of ethnically Asian origin in the West
Buddhism in the West
Buddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years, but it was not until the era of European colonization of Buddhist countries in...
. Oregon also contains the largest community of Russian Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
to be found in the United States (nearly 10,000 as of 2002), due to a relatively large immigrant population from areas where the church originated.
See also
- History of OregonHistory of OregonThe history of Oregon, a U.S. state, may be considered in five eras: geologic history, inhabitation by native peoples, early exploration by Europeans , settlement by pioneers, and modern development....
- Politics of OregonPolitics of OregonLike many other U.S. states, the politics of Oregon is centered mostly around regional concerns. Oregon leans Democratic as a state, with both U.S Senators from the Democratic party, as well as four out of Oregon's five U.S. Representatives...
- Religion in the United StatesReligion in the United StatesReligion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices, and by a high adherence level. According to recent surveys, 83 percent of Americans claim to belong to a religious denomination, 40 percent claim to attend services nearly every week or...
- History of religion in the United States
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of PortlandRoman Catholic Archdiocese of PortlandThe Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean...
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in OregonThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in OregonAs of the end of 2007, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 144,808 members in 36 stakes, 305 Congregations , 2 missions, and 2 temples in Oregon.-History:...
- Irreligion in the United StatesIrreligion in the United StatesEncompassing agnosticism, atheism, deism, skepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general secularism and even some forms of alternative spirituality such as New Age, various polls have put the population of "non-religious" North Americans at between 20 and 35 million...