Metro-Area Religious Demographics

Philadelphia Metro Area

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) • Pennsylvania / New Jersey / Delaware / Maryland

👥 Population: 6,329,118 (2025 MSA estimate)📉 Unaffiliated: 29% (2023-24)

Metropolitan Religious Landscape

The Philadelphia metropolitan area has one of the most historically important religious landscapes in the United States. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a Quaker-led experiment in religious toleration, and Philadelphia developed institutions representing Quaker, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and other traditions from the colonial period onward. Today the region remains strongly Christian while also containing established Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other religious communities. Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 61% of adults in the Philadelphia metro area identify as Christian, 8% with other religions, 29% are religiously unaffiliated, and 2% 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	15%	Baptist family (3%) Nondenominational family (5%) Presbyterian family (1%) Pentecostal family (2%) Anabaptist family (1%) Nonspecific Protestant family (2%) Other evangelical traditions (generally less than 1% each)
Mainline Protestant	10%	United Methodist family (3%) Episcopal/Anglican family (2%) American Baptist Churches USA (1%) ELCA Lutheran family (1%) Presbyterian Church (USA) (1%) Nondenominational mainline family (1%) Nonspecific/other mainline traditions (1%)
Historically Black Protestant	9%	Baptist family (5%) Church of God in Christ and other Pentecostal traditions (2%) Nonspecific historically Black Protestant family (1%) Other Methodist and historically Black Protestant traditions (generally less than 1% each)
Roman Catholic	26%	Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in the current Pew profile The metropolitan Catholic population includes Irish, Italian, Polish, Latino, Vietnamese and other communities
Latter-day Saint	0.5%	Pew reports Latter-day Saint identification as less than 1% 0.5% is a display convention rather than an exact survey estimate
Orthodox Christian	1%	Includes Eastern Orthodox and other Orthodox Christian traditions Philadelphia and its suburbs have Greek, Ukrainian, Russian and other Orthodox communities
Jehovah's Witness	0.5%	Pew reports Jehovah's Witness identification as less than 1% 0.5% is a display convention rather than an exact survey estimate
Other Christian	0.5%	Pew reports other Christian traditions as less than 1% 0.5% is a display convention rather than an exact survey estimate
Jewish	3%	Pew estimates 3% of Philadelphia metro adults identify as Jewish Major Jewish institutions are found in Philadelphia and suburban communities in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties
Muslim	1%	Pew estimates 1% of Philadelphia metro adults identify as Muslim The regional Muslim population includes African American, South Asian, Arab, West African and other communities
Buddhist	0.5%	Pew reports Buddhist identification as less than 1% Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean and other Buddhist traditions are present in the region 0.5% is a display convention rather than an exact survey estimate
Hindu	1%	Pew estimates 1% of Philadelphia metro adults identify as Hindu Hindu temples and cultural institutions are established in southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring New Jersey
Other World Religions	0.5%	Pew reports other world religions as less than 1% 0.5% is a display convention rather than an exact survey estimate
Other Religious Identifications	2%	Unitarians and other liberal faiths (1%) New Age traditions (1%) Pagan or Wiccan identification is included within Pew's New Age classification
Religiously Unaffiliated	29%	Atheist (5%) Agnostic (7%) Nothing in particular (17%)
Did Not Answer	2%	Pew reports 2% did not answer the religious-identification question

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

Religiously unaffiliated adults increased from 21% of the Philadelphia metro area in Pew's 2014 Religious Landscape Study to 29% in the 2023-24 study. The comparison should be interpreted cautiously because Pew changed its survey methodology between the two studies.

Regional & Geographic Distribution

Center City and Old City

Philadelphia's historic core contains major Quaker, Catholic, Episcopal, Jewish and other religious landmarks. The area preserves institutions connected to the city's colonial and early national religious history.

West and Southwest Philadelphia

West and Southwest Philadelphia contain major Black Protestant, Catholic, Muslim and immigrant religious communities, alongside longstanding neighborhood congregations.

Northeast and Lower Bucks County

Northeast Philadelphia and nearby Bucks County communities contain Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religious institutions serving residents across the city-suburban boundary.

Main Line and Montgomery County

The Main Line and Montgomery County contain longstanding Jewish, Protestant and Catholic institutions as well as growing Hindu, Muslim and other immigrant communities.

South Jersey

The Philadelphia metropolitan area extends across the Delaware River into New Jersey. Cherry Hill and neighboring communities contain substantial Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu and other religious institutions.

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 – Levittown, Pennsylvania
Bharatiya Temple – Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Samarpan Hindu Temple – Bensalem, Pennsylvania
ISKCON Philadelphia – Philadelphia

🕌 Mosques

Philadelphia Masjid – Philadelphia
Masjid Al-Jamia – West Philadelphia
Islamic Center of Delaware County – Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Masjidullah – Philadelphia area

✡️ Synagogues

Congregation Mikveh Israel – Philadelphia
Congregation Rodeph Shalom – Philadelphia
Adath Israel – Merion Station, Pennsylvania

⛪ Churches

Mother Bethel AME Church – Philadelphia
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul – Philadelphia
Arch Street Friends Meeting House – Philadelphia

Verified Address & Facility Notes

• Mother Bethel AME Church is located at 419 South 6th Street in Philadelphia. The congregation began with Richard Allen and held its first official service in 1794. The church's current materials describe its property as the oldest parcel of real estate continuously owned by African Americans in the United States.

• Congregation Mikveh Israel is located in Philadelphia and traces its history to the establishment of a Jewish communal cemetery in 1740. Its official history identifies the congregation as the oldest formal congregation in Philadelphia and the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States.

• The Arch Street Meeting House at 320 Arch Street was built in 1804 for Philadelphia Quakers and remains connected with Friends worship. The current Arch Street Friends community worships there on Sundays and Wednesdays.

• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Philadelphia is located at 1561 Woodbourne Road in Levittown, Pennsylvania. BAPS identifies the mandir as a place for Hindu worship, cultural programs, festivals, educational activities and community service.

Key Demographic & Cultural Facts

Pew's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study estimates that 29% of adults in the Philadelphia metro area are religiously unaffiliated: 5% atheist, 7% agnostic and 17% with no religion in particular.
Catholics account for 26% of Philadelphia metro adults, followed by evangelical Protestants at 15%, mainline Protestants at 10% and historically Black Protestants at 9%.
Pew estimates that Jewish adults represent 3% of the Philadelphia metro area, while Muslims and Hindus each represent 1% and Buddhists less than 1%.
The 2025 Census-derived population estimate for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA is 6,329,118.
The 2019 Jewish Population Study of Greater Philadelphia covered Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and completed more than 2,000 interviews with Jewish households.
Mother Bethel AME Church held its first official service on July 29, 1794. The congregation's property was purchased by Richard and Flora Allen and is described by the church as the oldest parcel of real estate continuously owned by African Americans in the United States.
Mother Bethel's own historical materials identify its Philadelphia congregation as the birthplace of the AME denomination, which was formally organized in 1816.
Congregation Mikveh Israel dates its beginning to Jewish communal life established in 1740 and identifies itself as the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States.
The present Arch Street Meeting House was built in 1804. Philadelphia's current Historical Commission identifies the Frankford Preparative Friends Meeting House, built in 1775-1776, as the oldest Quaker meeting house in Philadelphia.
William Penn promoted Pennsylvania as a place of religious liberty and tolerance. Philadelphia's colonial history includes worship communities of multiple Christian denominations as well as Jewish and other religious traditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Catholicism is the largest single named religious affiliation in Pew Research Center's 2023-24 Philadelphia metro profile at 26% of adults. Evangelical Protestants account for 15%, mainline Protestants 10% and historically Black Protestants 9%.

Pew estimates that 29% of adults in the Philadelphia metropolitan area are religiously unaffiliated: 5% atheist, 7% agnostic and 17% with no religion in particular.

Pew estimates that 3% of adults in the Philadelphia metro area identify as Jewish. A separate 2019 Jewish Population Study covered Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and collected more than 2,000 Jewish-household interviews.

William Penn established Pennsylvania as a Quaker-led colony emphasizing religious toleration and freedom of conscience. Philadelphia subsequently became home to Quaker, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and other religious communities, making the city an important chapter in the history of American religious liberty.

Mother Bethel held its first official service in 1794 under Richard Allen and became the birthplace of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination, formally organized in 1816. Its property is described by the church as the oldest parcel of real estate continuously owned by African Americans in the United States.

Congregation Mikveh Israel traces its history to 1740 and identifies itself as the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States. It is also known as the 'Synagogue of the American Revolution.'

Academic & Survey Sources

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

• Population Benchmark: U.S. Census Bureau annual metropolitan population estimates for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA

Methodology & Survey Notes:

Pew's 2023-24 Philadelphia metro estimates have a margin of error of approximately ±4.8 percentage points.
The percentages describe adults rather than the complete metropolitan population including children.
Several small categories are reported as less than 1%; any 0.5% values shown here are visualization conventions and should not be treated as exact survey estimates.
Pew notes that figures may not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding.
The 2023-24 survey used a different data-collection method from the 2014 survey, so historical comparisons should be interpreted cautiously.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation in the decennial census.

Verified Reference Links: