Metro-Area Religious Demographics

Denver Metro Area

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • Colorado

👥 Population: 3,092,037 (2025 MSA estimate)📉 Unaffiliated: 39% (2023-24)

Metropolitan Religious Landscape

The Denver metropolitan area has a mixed religious profile that combines a large Catholic population, substantial mainline and evangelical Protestant communities, a notable Latter-day Saint presence and a very large religiously unaffiliated population. The region also includes Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and other religious communities. Its religious landscape reflects both long-established Colorado communities and migration from other parts of the United States and abroad. Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 53% of adults in the Denver metro area identify as Christian, 7% identify with other religions, 39% are religiously unaffiliated and 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	10%	Nondenominational evangelical traditions Baptist traditions Lutheran evangelical traditions Presbyterian evangelical traditions Pentecostal traditions Restorationist and other evangelical traditions
Mainline Protestant	15%	United Methodist traditions ELCA Lutheran traditions Presbyterian Church (USA) Episcopal traditions United Church of Christ and other Congregationalist traditions Other mainline Protestant traditions
Historically Black Protestant	0.5%	Pew reports this category as less than 1% No exact metro percentage should be substituted for Pew's less-than-1% estimate
Roman Catholic	19%	Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in the current Pew profile The metro Catholic population includes Latino, Mexican American, European American, Filipino and other communities
Latter-day Saint	4%	The Denver region has a longstanding Latter-day Saint institutional presence Pew estimates 4% of Denver metro adults identify as Latter-day Saint
Orthodox Christian	2%	Includes Eastern Orthodox and other Orthodox Christian traditions
Jehovah's Witness	2%	Pew separately reports Jehovah's Witness identification at 2%
Other Christian	1%	Includes smaller Christian traditions and metaphysical Christian groups Individual traditions within this category are generally below 1%
Jewish	2%	Jewish institutions are distributed across Denver, the southeastern suburbs and other metropolitan communities Pew estimates 2% of Denver metro adults identify as Jewish
Muslim	0.5%	Pew reports Muslim identification as less than 1% The 0.5% value is a display convention only and is not an exact Pew estimate The community includes South Asian, Arab, African, East African and other Muslim populations
Buddhist	1%	Includes Tibetan, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Theravada and other Buddhist traditions Pew estimates 1% of Denver metro adults identify as Buddhist
Hindu	0.5%	Pew reports Hindu identification as less than 1% The 0.5% value is a display convention only and is not an exact Pew estimate Hindu temples and cultural organizations operate in the Denver metropolitan area
Other World Religions	0.5%	Pew reports other world religions as less than 1% The 0.5% value is a display convention only and is not an exact Pew estimate
Other Religious Identifications	3%	Unitarians and other liberal faiths (1%) New Age traditions (2%) Pew reports Native American religions as less than 1%
Religiously Unaffiliated	39%	Atheist (7%) Agnostic (9%) Nothing in particular (23%)
Did Not Answer	1%	Pew reports 1% did not answer the religious-identification question

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

Religiously unaffiliated adults were about 32% of the Denver metropolitan area in 2014 and 39% in the 2023-24 Pew profile. The comparison should be interpreted cautiously because the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study used a different survey methodology from the 2014 study.

Regional & Geographic Distribution

Denver

Denver contains major Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Buddhist institutions, along with Muslim, Hindu, Orthodox Christian and other religious communities. The city also has a substantial unaffiliated population.

Aurora

Aurora is one of the metropolitan area's most diverse suburban communities and contains Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and immigrant-serving religious organizations.

Southern and Southeastern Suburbs

Littleton, Centennial, Parker, Lone Tree and surrounding communities contain a mix of Christian, Hindu, Jewish and other religious institutions. The area also has several established Latter-day Saint congregations.

Western Suburbs

Lakewood, Arvada, Wheat Ridge and nearby communities include Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist and other religious institutions serving the western metropolitan area.

Colorado Tibetan Buddhist Community

Colorado has played an important role in the development of Tibetan Buddhist and contemplative communities in the United States. Boulder, which is outside the Denver MSA, became especially associated with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Naropa University and the development of Shambhala teachings.

Notable Houses of Worship & Faith Centers

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

🛕 Hindu Temples

Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Colorado – Littleton area
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – Littleton, Colorado

🕌 Mosques

Islamic Center of Colorado – Aurora, Colorado
Masjid Abu Bakr – Denver area
Colorado Muslim Society – Denver area

☸️ Buddhist Centers

Karma Thegsum Choling Denver – Denver area
Denver Buddhist Temple – Denver
Shambhala Meditation Center of Denver – Denver

⛪ Christian Churches

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception – Denver
Saint Joseph Catholic Parish – Denver
Faith Bible Chapel – Arvada

✡️ Synagogues

Temple Emanuel – Denver
Congregation Rodef Shalom – Denver
Bais Menachem – Denver

Verified Address & Facility Notes

• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Denver is currently listed by BAPS at 8200 Southpark Circle, Unit 500, Littleton, Colorado 80120. BAPS describes the mandir as a Hindu house of worship and lists current prayer ceremonies, festivals and community programs.

• Denver has multiple Buddhist institutions representing different traditions. These include Jodo Shinshu, Tibetan Buddhist and other meditation communities.

• Beis Menachem of Denver is a Chabad center serving Jewish learning, prayer and community life in Denver. Its current website lists religious services and educational programs.

• The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Denver and a major Catholic landmark in Colorado.

Key Demographic & Cultural Facts

Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 39% of adults in the Denver metro area are religiously unaffiliated: 7% atheist, 9% agnostic and 23% with no religion in particular.
Catholics account for 19% of Denver metro adults, mainline Protestants 15%, evangelical Protestants 10% and Latter-day Saints 4% in the current Pew profile.
Pew estimates Jewish adults at 2%, Buddhist adults at 1%, while Muslim and Hindu identification are each reported as less than 1%.
The 2025 Census-derived population estimate for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metropolitan area is 3,092,037.
Denver's unaffiliated share was about 32% in 2014 in contemporary metropolitan religion comparisons, compared with 39% in the current Pew profile.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche developed the Shambhala teachings beginning in 1976. Colorado, particularly Boulder, became an important center of his work, but Boulder is outside the federal Denver metropolitan statistical area.
Naropa University in Boulder was founded in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and was named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist scholar Naropa.
The Denver Catholic community is centered on the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which serves as the mother church of the Archdiocese of Denver.
Denver's contemporary Jewish community includes Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and other Jewish institutions, with congregations distributed across the metropolitan area.

Frequently Asked Questions

Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Denver metro profile at 19% of adults. Mainline Protestants account for 15% and evangelical Protestants for 10%.

Pew estimates that 39% of adults in the Denver metro area are religiously unaffiliated. That includes 7% atheist, 9% agnostic and 23% who say they have no religion in particular.

Pew estimates that 4% of Denver metro adults identify as Latter-day Saint. The region has longstanding LDS congregations and institutions, although its Latter-day Saint share is much smaller than the levels found in Utah.

Pew estimates that 1% of Denver metro adults identify as Buddhist. The region supports several Buddhist traditions, including Tibetan, Japanese, Vietnamese and meditation-oriented communities. Boulder, outside the Denver MSA, has a particularly important historical connection to Chögyam Trungpa and Shambhala.

The strongest historical connection is through Colorado, especially Boulder, rather than Denver itself. Chögyam Trungpa developed the Shambhala teachings beginning in 1976, and his work helped make Colorado an important center for contemporary Tibetan Buddhist and contemplative movements.

The 2025 Census-derived population estimate for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metropolitan statistical area is 3,092,037. This is the federal MSA geography, not the combined population of every Front Range city such as Boulder or Colorado Springs.

Academic & Survey Sources

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

• Population Benchmark: U.S. Census Bureau annual metropolitan population estimates for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial MSA

Methodology & Survey Notes:

Pew's 2023-24 Denver metro estimates have a margin of error of approximately ±8.9 percentage points.
The figures describe adults in the Denver metropolitan area, not the complete population including children.
Pew reports several small categories as less than 1%; converting those categories into an exact percentage would overstate the precision of the survey.
Any 0.5% values used in this display are visualization conventions for categories reported as less than 1%, not exact Pew estimates.
Pew notes that figures can differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
The 2023-24 survey used a different data-collection method from the 2014 study, so long-term comparisons should be interpreted cautiously.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census.

Verified Reference Links: