Metro-Area Religious Demographics

Houston Metro Area

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • Texas

👥 Population: 7,904,627 (2025 MSA estimate)📉 Unaffiliated: 26% (2023-24)

Metropolitan Religious Landscape

The Houston metropolitan area has a broad and increasingly diverse religious landscape. Christianity remains the majority tradition, led by evangelical Protestantism and Catholicism, while Houston also has established Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and other religious communities. Its religious diversity reflects successive migration from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other regions, as well as long-established African American and European American congregations. Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 67% of adults in the Houston metro area identify as Christian, 7% identify with other religions, 26% are religiously unaffiliated, and less than 1% did not answer.

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	25%	Baptist family (7%) Nondenominational family (8%) Pentecostal family (5%) Nonspecific Protestant family (2%) Restorationist family (1%) Lutheran and other evangelical traditions (each generally less than 1%)
Mainline Protestant	10%	Methodist family (3%) Baptist family (2%) Episcopalian/Anglican family (2%) Lutheran family (1%) Presbyterian family (1%) Nondenominational and other mainline traditions (generally 1% or less)
Historically Black Protestant	9%	Baptist family (5%) Pentecostal family (2%) Nonspecific Protestant family (1%) Other historically Black Protestant traditions (less than 1%)
Roman Catholic	21%	Catholicism is the largest single named Christian affiliation in the current Pew profile Houston's Catholic population includes large Latino, Vietnamese, Filipino and other communities
Jehovah's Witness	1%	Pew separately reports Jehovah's Witnesses at 1% of adults
Jewish	1%	The Houston Jewish community includes long-established congregations and institutions across the metropolitan area Pew estimates 1% of metro-area adults identify as Jewish
Muslim	3%	Houston-area Muslim communities include South Asian, Arab, African American, African and other backgrounds Pew estimates 3% of metro-area adults identify as Muslim
Buddhist	2%	The region includes Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Sri Lankan and other Buddhist traditions Pew estimates 2% of metro-area adults identify as Buddhist
Hindu	0.5%	Pew reports Hindu identification as less than 1% of Houston metro adults The Houston area nonetheless has visible Hindu institutions and communities, particularly in southwest suburban areas
Other Religions	0.5%	Pew reports less than 1% for other world religions Pew also reports less than 1% for its 'Something else' category
Religiously Unaffiliated	26%	Atheist (4%) Agnostic (4%) Nothing in particular (18%)
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 20% of the Houston metro area in Pew's 2014 Religious Landscape Study to 26% in the 2023-24 study. The comparison should be interpreted cautiously because Pew changed its survey methodology in 2023-24, moving from telephone interviewing to a predominantly online and paper-based survey.

Regional & Geographic Distribution

Southwest Houston and Fort Bend County

Sugar Land, Stafford, Missouri City and surrounding communities contain substantial South Asian populations and numerous Hindu, Muslim and Sikh institutions. This area is one of the most visible centers of South Asian religious life in metropolitan Houston.

Southwest Houston and Bellaire

The Bellaire and southwest Houston area has long been associated with Vietnamese and other Asian immigrant communities and contains Vietnamese Buddhist and Catholic institutions.

Clear Lake and Southeast Houston

The Clear Lake and NASA-area communities contain churches, Islamic institutions and other religious organizations serving residents of one of the region's major employment and residential corridors.

North and Northwest Houston

The northern and northwestern suburbs have expanded rapidly and contain a wide range of Protestant congregations, Muslim centers and immigrant-serving religious institutions.

Greater Houston Jewish Community

Houston has a long-established Jewish community with Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and other Jewish institutions. Congregations and Jewish organizations are concentrated in multiple areas rather than a single neighborhood.

Notable Houses of Worship & Faith Centers

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

🛕 Hindu Temples

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir – Stafford, Texas
Sri Meenakshi Temple – Pearland, Texas
Radha Krishna Temple – Houston area

🕌 Mosques

Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) centers – greater Houston
Masjid Al Noor – Sugar Land area
Clear Lake Islamic Center – Clear Lake area
Masjid Bilal (Adel Road Islamic Center) – Houston

⚔️ Sikh Gurdwaras

Guru Nanak Society of Houston – Houston area
Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib – Houston area
Sikh National Center – Houston area

☸️ Buddhist Temples

Giac Lam Temple – Houston
Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the southwest Houston/Bellaire area
Houston Buddhist Vihara – Houston

⛪ Christian Churches

Lakewood Church – Houston
Second Baptist Church – Houston
St. Mary's Catholic Church – Houston area

✡️ Synagogues

Congregation Beth Yeshurun – Houston
Congregation Emanu El – Houston
United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston – Houston

Verified Address & Facility Notes

• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Houston is located at 1150 Brand Lane, Stafford, Texas. BAPS states that the mandir was inaugurated in July 2004 and describes it as the first traditional Hindu mandir of its kind in North America. The temple contains more than 33,000 individually carved stone pieces and hosts religious, cultural and community activities.

• The Islamic Society of Greater Houston currently lists 20 Islamic Centers in its network. Its official directory includes centers in Houston, Spring, Cypress, Conroe and other parts of the metropolitan region.

• Masjid Bilal, also identified by ISGH as the Adel Road Islamic Center, is listed by ISGH at 11815 Adel Road, Houston, Texas 77067.

• Sri Meenakshi Temple is a major Hindu temple in Pearland, Texas, serving the Hindu community of the greater Houston region. Its architecture and religious program draw heavily from South Indian Hindu traditions.

• Lakewood Church is located in Houston and occupies the former Compaq Center, the indoor arena formerly used by the NBA's Houston Rockets. It is led by Joel Osteen.

Key Demographic & Cultural Facts

Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 26% of adults in the Houston metro area are religiously unaffiliated: 4% atheist, 4% agnostic and 18% with no religion in particular.
Evangelical Protestants make up 25% of Houston metro adults in the current Pew estimate, followed by Catholics at 21%, mainline Protestants at 10% and historically Black Protestants at 9%.
The Houston metro area had a 2025 estimated population of 7,904,627 according to the Census-derived annual metropolitan population series.
Pew estimates that Muslims account for 3% of Houston metro adults and Buddhists for 2%, while Jews account for 1% and Hindus for less than 1%.
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston currently manages 20 Islamic centers across the greater Houston area, according to its official directory.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Stafford was inaugurated in July 2004 and is a major Hindu religious, cultural and community institution. BAPS describes it as the first traditional Hindu mandir of its kind in North America.
Houston's religious landscape includes significant Asian American religious institutions, particularly among Vietnamese, South Asian, Chinese, Korean and other communities.
Lakewood Church is headquartered in Houston and is one of the best-known megachurches in the United States, operating from the former Compaq Center in the city.

Frequently Asked Questions

Evangelical Protestants are the largest broad religious tradition in Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Houston metro profile at 25% of adults. Catholics account for 21%, mainline Protestants 10% and historically Black Protestants 9%.

Pew estimates that 26% of adults in the Houston metro area are religiously unaffiliated. That includes 4% atheist, 4% agnostic and 18% who say they have no religion in particular.

Pew's 2023-24 metro estimate puts Muslims at 3% of Houston-area adults. The metropolitan community is diverse and includes South Asian, Arab, African American, African and other Muslim populations. The Islamic Society of Greater Houston currently operates 20 Islamic centers.

Hindu communities are especially visible in southwest suburban areas including Stafford, Sugar Land, Missouri City and Pearland. Major institutions include BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Stafford and Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland.

Houston has a substantial Vietnamese American population, particularly in southwest Houston and nearby communities. The region contains Vietnamese Catholic parishes and Buddhist temples reflecting both Catholic and Mahayana/other Buddhist traditions.

Pew estimates that the religiously unaffiliated share increased from 20% of Houston metro adults in 2014 to 26% in 2023-24. Pew also reports that Christianity declined over the same period. Because the newer survey uses a different methodology, the year-to-year change should be interpreted as a broad trend rather than a perfectly continuous measurement.

Academic & Survey Sources

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

• Population Benchmark: U.S. Census Bureau annual metropolitan population estimates, reported through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Methodology & Survey Notes:

Pew's 2023-24 Houston metro estimates have a margin of error of approximately ±5.6 percentage points.
The percentages describe adults, not the entire metropolitan population including children.
Some Pew categories are reported as less than 1%; representing them as 0.5% here is a display convention only and should not be interpreted as an exact measured value.
Pew states that figures may not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding.
The 2023-24 survey used a substantially different collection method from the 2014 study, so the 2014-to-2023-24 comparison should be treated as a broad directional comparison.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census; religion-specific estimates therefore come primarily from surveys and specialized studies.

Verified Reference Links: