More Americans are shifting away from religious affiliation, new study finds

About 30% of adults do not have a religious affiliation, six percentage points higher than it was five years ago

About 30% of American adults say they do not have a religious affiliation, according to a new study exploring the growing secularization in American society.

In 2007, only 16% of American adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center identified themselves as religious nones" - people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular" when asked about their religious identity. That figure is now 29%, according to a new Pew research released on Tuesday.