Metro-Area Religious Demographics

Boston Metro Area

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • Massachusetts / New Hampshire

👥 Population: 5,034,221 (2025 MSA estimate)📉 Unaffiliated: 41% (2023-24)

Metropolitan Religious Landscape

The Boston metropolitan area has a distinctive religious landscape shaped by its historic Catholic and Protestant institutions, large Jewish community, major universities and a broad range of newer immigrant and Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and other religious communities. The region also has a large religiously unaffiliated population. Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that about 47% of adults in the Boston metro area identify as Christian, 12% identify with other religions, 41% are religiously unaffiliated, and less than 1% did not answer the religious-identification question.

Religious-Affiliation Breakdown

Pew RLS 2023-24

Percentages represent adult population survey estimates for the metropolitan area.

Religious Group	Share (%)	Subgroups & Community Context
Evangelical Protestant	8%	Baptist family (3%) Nondenominational evangelical family (2%) Pentecostal family (2%) Presbyterian and other evangelical traditions (generally 1% or less each)
Mainline Protestant	10%	Episcopal/Anglican family (3%) Congregationalist/UCC family (3%) Nonspecific mainline Protestant family (2%) Presbyterian family (1%) Nondenominational mainline and other traditions (generally 1% or less each)
Historically Black Protestant	3%	Baptist family (1%) Pentecostal family (1%) Other historically Black Protestant traditions (approximately 1%)
Roman Catholic	24%	Catholic adults account for 24% of the Boston metro adult population in Pew's 2023-24 estimate The region has longstanding Irish, Italian, Latino, Portuguese, Brazilian, Vietnamese and other Catholic communities
Orthodox Christian	2%	Includes Greek, Antiochian, Russian, Serbian, Albanian and other Orthodox Christian traditions
Other Christian	0.5%	Pew reports less than 1% for other Christian traditions 0.5% is used only as a display convention and is not an exact survey estimate
Jewish	5%	Boston has longstanding Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and other Jewish institutions Jewish communities are particularly visible in Brookline, Newton, Needham, Sharon and other metropolitan communities
Muslim	1%	Muslim communities include South Asian, Arab, Somali, African, African American and other backgrounds Pew estimates 1% of Boston metro adults identify as Muslim
Buddhist	1%	Includes Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Tibetan and Theravada traditions Pew estimates 1% of Boston metro adults identify as Buddhist
Hindu	3%	Hindu communities are found in Boston, Cambridge, Waltham and suburban communities west of Boston Pew estimates 3% of Boston metro adults identify as Hindu
Other World Religions	0.5%	Pew reports less than 1% for other world religions 0.5% is a display convention, not an exact measured value
Other Religious Identifications	2%	Unitarians and other liberal faiths (2%) New Age identification (1%) is included within Pew's broader 'Something else' reporting and should not be added again as a separate population
Religiously Unaffiliated	41%	Atheist (9%) Agnostic (5%) Nothing in particular (27%)
Did Not Answer	0.5%	Pew reports less than 1% did not answer the religious-identification question

📈 10-Year Demographic Trend (2014 vs. 2023-24)

Religiously unaffiliated adults increased from 33% of the Boston metro area in Pew's 2014 Religious Landscape Study to 41% in the 2023-24 study. The comparison should be interpreted cautiously because Pew changed its survey methodology between the two studies.

Regional & Geographic Distribution

Boston and Cambridge

Boston and Cambridge contain major Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and university-based religious institutions, as well as Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Orthodox and other communities. Harvard and other universities contribute significantly to the area's multireligious academic environment.

Brookline and Newton

Brookline and Newton have longstanding Jewish populations and institutions alongside Catholic, Protestant and other religious communities.

Greater Boston Muslim Community

Muslim institutions are distributed throughout Greater Boston. The Islamic Society of Boston operates both a mosque in Cambridge and the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury.

Western Suburbs

Communities such as Waltham, Framingham, Ashland, Westborough and surrounding towns have growing immigrant populations and religious institutions, including Hindu, Catholic, Muslim and other congregations.

Central Massachusetts Religious Institutions

Some important Buddhist and Hindu institutions associated with Greater Boston's broader religious ecosystem are located outside the core Boston MSA. They should therefore be described as Massachusetts or New England institutions rather than Boston metro venues.

Notable Houses of Worship & Faith Centers

Major active community institutions, historic landmarks, and diaspora centers across the metropolitan area:

🛕 Hindu Temples

Sri Lakshmi Temple – Ashland, Massachusetts
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – Lowell, Massachusetts
Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple – Waltham area

🕌 Mosques

Islamic Society of Boston – Cambridge, Massachusetts
Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center – Roxbury, Boston
Masjid Al-Quran – Boston area

☸️ Buddhist Centers

Insight Meditation Society – Barre, Massachusetts
Cambridge Zen Center – Cambridge, Massachusetts
Buddhist Community of Greater Boston – Boston area

✡️ Synagogues

Temple Israel of Boston – Boston
Temple Emanuel – Newton, Massachusetts
Congregation Kehillath Israel – Brookline, Massachusetts

⛪ Churches

Old North Church – Boston
Trinity Church – Copley Square, Boston
Park Street Church – Boston
Cathedral of the Holy Cross – Boston

Verified Address & Facility Notes

• The Islamic Society of Boston operates the ISB mosque at 204 Prospect Street in Cambridge and the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center at 100 Malcolm X Boulevard in Roxbury. The operator currently describes the Roxbury center as the largest mosque in New England.

• The ISBCC is a 70,000-square-foot mosque and cultural center in Roxbury. The organization states that it serves approximately 1,700 congregants at Friday prayers and accommodates approximately 10,000 worshipers across multiple Eid sessions in cooperation with other mosques.

• Harvard Divinity School was established in 1816 as the first nonsectarian theological school in the United States. Its current mission covers scholarship, professional service and ministry in a multireligious environment.

• Insight Meditation Society was established in 1976 in Barre, Massachusetts by Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and Jacqueline Schwartz. It operates retreat programs and is an influential institution in the American Vipassana and Insight Meditation movement.

Key Demographic & Cultural Facts

Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 41% of Boston metro adults are religiously unaffiliated: 9% atheist, 5% agnostic and 27% with no religion in particular.
Catholics account for 24% of adults in the current Boston metro profile, making Catholicism the largest single named religious affiliation.
Mainline Protestants account for 10%, evangelical Protestants 8% and historically Black Protestants 3% of Boston metro adults in Pew's current estimate.
Pew estimates Jewish identification at 5%, Hindu identification at 3%, Muslim identification at 1% and Buddhist identification at 1% among Boston metro adults.
The 2025 Census-derived population estimate for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA is 5,034,221.
Harvard Divinity School was established in 1816 and describes itself as the first nonsectarian theological school in the United States.
Harvard's historical materials record a 1872 course on East Asian religions at Harvard as the first comparative religion course given in the United States.
The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury is currently described by its operator as the largest mosque in New England, with approximately 1,700 Friday congregants and capacity for roughly 10,000 worshipers across multiple Eid sessions.
The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts was founded in 1976 and became an important center for Vipassana practice in the West. Its significance is better described in terms of influence and retreat activity than by an unsupported national 'largest' ranking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pew Research Center estimates that 41% of Boston metro adults are religiously unaffiliated: 9% atheist, 5% agnostic and 27% who say they have no religion in particular.

Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in Pew's 2023-24 Boston metro profile at 24% of adults. Mainline Protestants account for 10% and evangelical Protestants for 8%.

Pew estimates that 5% of adults in the Boston metro area identify as Jewish. The region has longstanding Jewish institutions in Boston and surrounding communities including Brookline, Newton and other suburbs.

Pew estimates that 3% of Boston metro adults identify as Hindu. Hindu temples and cultural organizations operate in Boston-area and suburban communities, including institutions in Ashland, Lowell and other parts of eastern Massachusetts.

The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center is a large mosque and community center in Roxbury at 100 Malcolm X Boulevard. Its operator currently identifies it as the largest mosque in New England and reports approximately 1,700 Friday congregants.

Harvard Divinity School was established in 1816 as the first nonsectarian theological school in the United States. Harvard also developed an academic tradition of comparative religion, with the university recording an 1872 course on East Asian religions as the first comparative religion course taught in the United States.

Academic & Survey Sources

• Primary Religion Survey: Pew Research Center, 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, Boston metro area

• Population Benchmark: U.S. Census Bureau annual metropolitan population estimates for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA

Methodology & Survey Notes:

Pew's 2023-24 Boston metro estimates have a margin of error of approximately ±6.4 percentage points.
The religion percentages describe adults, not the entire metropolitan population including children.
Some categories are reported by Pew as less than 1%. Any 0.5% figures in this display are conventions for visualization rather than exact estimates.
Pew notes that displayed percentages can differ slightly from exact totals because of rounding.
The 2023-24 RLS was collected using a different survey methodology from the 2014 RLS, so long-term comparisons should be treated cautiously.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census; religious composition is measured through surveys and specialized studies.

Verified Reference Links: