Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | Virginia | 523,000 | 9.00% | - | - | 1989 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990). [Original sources: Official Catholic Directory, based on parish-level reporting, & U.S. 1989 Statistical Abstract]; pg. 112. | Table: "Catholic Population by State "; [Greeley (author) has conduced a somewhat detailed analysis, adding some adjustments to account for statistically observed undercount, plus some other factors.] |
| Catholic | Virginia | 384,285 | 6.21% | 228 units |
- | 1990 | Glenmary Research Center (Mars Hill, NC). Churches & Church Membership in U.S., 1990. Courtesy of American Religion Data Archive. | By-county org. reports, figures from 'Churches' & inclusive 'Adherents' columns. [Listed as 'Catholic Church.'] |
| Catholic | Virginia | - | 12.20% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Catholic | Virginia | 494,655 | 7.40% | 203 units |
- | 1996 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 432-437. | Tables: "Catholic Population of the United States " and "Percentage of Catholics in Total Population in U.S. ". Figures are as of Jan. 1, 1997. |
| Catholic | Virginia | - | 14.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Catholic " |
| Catholic | Virginia - whites | - | 0.04% | 10 units |
- | 1776 | Finke, Roger & Rodney Stark. The Churching of America, 1776-1990. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press (1992; 3rd printing 1997); pg. 277-281. | Table A.1: "Denominational Percentages by Colony, 1776, Based on Number of Congregations "; Total num. of congreg. = 491. Denominational % (0.2%) multiplied by state's adherence rate from table on pg. 27: 22%. [Figure for whites calculated separately for southern states where large numbers of black slaves, few of whom were religiously affiliated at this time; otherwise southern denominational % figures are skewed lower.] |
| Catholic | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 15,000 | 100.00% | 5 units |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 333-367. | Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995. Number used for "congregations " is from number of Catholic parishes. |
| Catholic | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 14,817 | 100.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Total population: 14,817. Roman Catholic 100%. |
| Catholic | Wallis and Futuna Islands | - | 99.02% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* Zenit. "DOSSIER: BRAZIL AND MEXICO HAVE LARGEST NUMBER OF CATHOLICS " on "Zenit News Agency " web site (online Catholic news); Archives: 13 June 1999 (ZE99061302). (Viewed 19 June 1999). | "...figures given in the latest edition of the Church's Statistical Yearbook for 1997... Listed among the most Catholic countries, according to percentage of the population, are Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon with 99.36% and the Wallis and Futuna islands with 99.02% " |
| Catholic | Washington | 529,000 | 12.00% | - | - | 1989 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990). [Original sources: Official Catholic Directory, based on parish-level reporting, & U.S. 1989 Statistical Abstract]; pg. 112. | Table: "Catholic Population by State "; [Greeley (author) has conduced a somewhat detailed analysis, adding some adjustments to account for statistically observed undercount, plus some other factors.] |
| Catholic | Washington | 526,546 | 10.82% | 317 units |
- | 1990 | Glenmary Research Center (Mars Hill, NC). Churches & Church Membership in U.S., 1990. Courtesy of American Religion Data Archive. | By-county org. reports, figures from 'Churches' & inclusive 'Adherents' columns. [Listed as 'Catholic Church.'] |
| Catholic | Washington | - | 19.00% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Catholic | Washington | 519,130 | 9.50% | 257 units |
- | 1996 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 432-437. | Tables: "Catholic Population of the United States " and "Percentage of Catholics in Total Population in U.S. ". Figures are as of Jan. 1, 1997. |
| Catholic | Washington | - | 20.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Catholic " |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C. | - | 19.00% | - | - | 1989 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990). [Original sources: Official Catholic Directory, based on parish-level reporting, & U.S. 1989 Statistical Abstract]; pg. 112. | Table: "Catholic Population by State "; [Greeley (author) has conduced a somewhat detailed analysis, adding some adjustments to account for statistically observed undercount, plus some other factors.]; [Maryland and Washington, D.C. figures combined: 19%, 953,000 Catholics] |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C. | 77,532 | 12.78% | 41 units |
- | 1990 | Glenmary Research Center. Churches & Church Membership in U.S., 1990. | By-county org. reports, figures from 'Churches' & inclusive 'Adherents' columns. |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C. | - | 16.10% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. [Geographic region in this table is listed as "District of Columbia ", not "Washington, D.C. "] |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C. | 440,000 | 18.40% | 139 units |
- | 1996 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 432-437. | Tables: "Catholic Population of the United States " and "Percentage of Catholics in Total Population in U.S. ". Figures are as of Jan. 1, 1997.; [Geographic region in this table is listed as "District of Columbia ", not "Washington, D.C. "] |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C. | - | 27.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Catholic " |
| Catholic | Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University students | 3,600 | 60.00% | - | - | 1999 | "Georgetown names 1st Muslim chaplain " in Dallas Morning News, 28 Aug. 1999; pg. 6G. | "Georgetown University, the nation's oldest Roman Catholic university... in Washington, D.C... About 60 percent of the students call themselves Catholic. " |
| Catholic | West Virginia | 116,000 | 6.00% | - | - | 1989 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990). [Original sources: Official Catholic Directory, based on parish-level reporting, & U.S. 1989 Statistical Abstract]; pg. 112. | Table: "Catholic Population by State "; [Greeley (author) has conduced a somewhat detailed analysis, adding some adjustments to account for statistically observed undercount, plus some other factors.] |
| Catholic | West Virginia | 108,529 | 6.05% | 177 units |
- | 1990 | Glenmary Research Center (Mars Hill, NC). Churches & Church Membership in U.S., 1990. Courtesy of American Religion Data Archive. | By-county org. reports, figures from 'Churches' & inclusive 'Adherents' columns. [Listed as 'Catholic Church.'] |
| Catholic | West Virginia | - | 5.90% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Catholic | West Virginia | 103,678 | 5.80% | 115 units |
- | 1996 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 432-437. | Tables: "Catholic Population of the United States " and "Percentage of Catholics in Total Population in U.S. ". Figures are as of Jan. 1, 1997. |
| Catholic | West Virginia | - | 8.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Catholic " |
| Catholic | Western Hemisphere | 141,528,000 | - | - | - | 1936 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 669. | "Statistics:... The Americas 141,528,000; Africa 7,595,000... [H. A. Krose in 'Lexikon fur Theologie and Kirche', VIII, 791 (1936)] " |
| Catholic | Western Sahara | 200 | 0.06% | 1 unit |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 333-367. | Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995. Number used for "congregations " is from number of Catholic parishes.; "Islam is the religion of non-Europeans. A prefecture apostolic was established in 1954 for the European Catholics there. " |
| Catholic | Wisconsin | 1,776,000 | 37.00% | - | - | 1989 | Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1990). [Original sources: Official Catholic Directory, based on parish-level reporting, & U.S. 1989 Statistical Abstract]; pg. 112. | Table: "Catholic Population by State "; [Greeley (author) has conduced a somewhat detailed analysis, adding some adjustments to account for statistically observed undercount, plus some other factors.] |
| Catholic | Wisconsin | 1,554,278 | 31.77% | 968 units |
- | 1990 | Glenmary Research Center (Mars Hill, NC). Churches & Church Membership in U.S., 1990. Courtesy of American Religion Data Archive. | By-county org. reports, figures from 'Churches' & inclusive 'Adherents' columns. [Listed as 'Catholic Church.'] |
| Catholic | Wisconsin | - | 38.60% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Catholic | Wisconsin | 1,759,923 | 35.30% | 910 units |
- | 1996 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 432-437. | Tables: "Catholic Population of the United States " and "Percentage of Catholics in Total Population in U.S. ". Figures are as of Jan. 1, 1997. |
| Catholic | Wisconsin | - | 28.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Catholic " |
| Catholic | world | 382,190,016 | 18.71% | - | - | 1936 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 669. | "Statistics: Roman Catholics number 382,190,000 or 18.71% of mankind... [H. A. Krose in 'Lexikon fur Theologie and Kirche', VIII, 791 (1936)] " |
| Catholic | world | 484,000,000 | - | 410,000 units |
- | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 207. | "...Pope, Pius XII, wields spiritual authority--through 62 cardinals, 1,427 bishops, some 400,000 secular priests, 300,000 religious priests and lay brothers, and 970,000 sisters--over some 484 million souls served by 410,000 churches in the world. " |
| Catholic | world | 484,000,000 | 19.36% | - | - | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 204-205. | Table: "Christians, Their Practices "; "Roman Catholics: Members in world, 484 million children and adults... Concepts of Salvation and Afterlife: Salvation is by God's grace; man helps gain it by faith, obedience to divine law. Damnation is man's fault, by rejection of grace. Man's final state after death will be heaven... or hell... At man's bodily resurrection and the Second Coming, Christ will judge all men. " |
| Catholic | world | 484,000,000 | - | 410,000 units |
- | 1958 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Western Publishing Co. (1972). [11th printing; original edition: 1958]; pg. 152. | "...the Pope wields spiritual power--through 62 cardinals, 1,427 bishops, some 700,000 priests and 970,000 nuns--over some 484 million souls served by 410,000 Catholic churches all arond the world. " |
| Catholic | world | 500,000,000 | - | - | - | 1959 | Stuber, Stanley I. How We Got Our Denominations: A Primer on Church History. New York: Association Press Revised Ed., 1959); pg. 135. | "Roman Catholic Church... Approximately 36,000,000 members in the United States, and 500,000,000 around the world. " |
| Catholic | world | 530,000,000 | - | - | - | 1960 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977); pg. 402. | "Moreover, figures released in 1974 show that while the Catholic population around the world increased since 1960 from 530 million to 659 million, the number of priests has remained virtually static. " |
| Catholic | world | 500,000,000 | - | - | - | 1969 | Hutchinson, John A. Paths of Faith; New York: McGraw-Hill (1969); pg. 503. | "This ceremony... still continues to provide a living center for the faith of the world's 500,000,000 Roman Catholics. " |
| Catholic | world | 659,000,000 | - | - | - | 1974 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977); pg. 402. | "Moreover, figures released in 1974 show that while the Catholic population around the world increased since 1960 from 530 million to 659 million, the number of priests has remained virtually static. " |
| Catholic | world | 550,000,000 | - | - | - | 1975 | Wallechinsky, David & Irving Wallace; The People's Almanac; Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1975); pg. 1265. | List of "Major World Religions ": "The Roman Catholic Church has over 550 million members, including 48 million in the U.S. " |
| Catholic | world | 700,000,000 | - | - | - | 1980 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 609-628. | "The First Vatican Council (1869-1870) called the church 'the holy Catholic apostolic Roman Church.' It has (1980), some 700,000,000 members in over 2,000 dioceses throughout the world. " |
| Catholic | world | 802,600,000 | - | - | - | 1980 | Walls, Andrew. "Christianity " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984]; pg. 117. | "Figure 2.9: Christianity, 1980: world figures (after Barrett, 1982) " |
| Catholic | world | 550,000,000 | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 173. | "The three fundamental Christian divisions are Roman Catholic, with over 550 million members, Orthodox, with about 85 million, and Protestant with 320 million. " |
| Catholic | world | 579,562,304 | - | - | - | 1981 | Popenoe, David. Sociology (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1983). [Source: 1981 Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 433. | Table: Membership in the Major Religions of the World " |
| Catholic | world | 580,061,824 | 12.90% | - | - | 1982 | Robertson, Ian. Sociology (2nd ed.); New York, NY: Worth Publishers (1981 2nd edition; updated since 1977 1st ed.). [Orig. source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1982]; pg. 405. | Table: "Estimated membership of the principal religions of the world " |
| Catholic | world | 600,000,000 | - | - | - | 1983 | Berger, Gilda. Religion: A Reference First Book. New York: Franklin Watts (1983); pg. 79. | "The Roman Catholic Church today has the largest number of Christian followers in the world. There are nearly 600 million Catholics worldwide, with about 133 million in the U.S. " |
| Catholic | world | 825,592,000 | 17.50% | - | - | 1983 | Bishop, Peter & Michael Darton (editors). The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World's Living Faiths. New York: Facts on File Publications (1987); pg. 87. | "The most recent full set of figures available, those for the end of 1983, indicate that there are 825,592,000 Roman Catholics, somewhat more than 17.5 per cent of the world's population. These statistics, however, are based upon the number of people known to have been baptized into the Church rather upon the more realistic figure of those who, in some formal way, practice their faith. " |
| Catholic | world | 622,000,000 | - | - | - | 1984 | Lindsey, Hal. Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.. Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, Ltd. (1994); pg. 176-177. | "Ten years ago, a survey of the largest religions in the world showed Roman Catholicism first with 622 million followers, Islam second with 555 million, Hinduism third with 462 million and Protestantism fourth with 370 million. " |
| Catholic | world | 872,104,640 | - | - | - | 1985 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1997, DK Publishing: New York (1996); pg. 84. | Table: "Top 10 Christian Affiliations in the World " (listing of religious "affiliations ", or denominational families, with largest numbers of adherents, based on mid-1980s. Ranked #1 |
| Catholic | world | 700,000,000 | - | - | - | 1985 | Roussou, Maria. I Am a Greek Orthodox. London: Franklin Watts (1985); pg. 30. | "The Catholic Church has about 700 million members and the total Christian church over 1,000 million. " |
| Catholic | world | - | 20.00% | - | - | 1990 | Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. (1977); pg. 11. | "When the liberal Catholics and Modernists attempted to work out a reconciliation of its traditional faith with the demand of modern culture, they were decisively put down. And it entered our own century with a constantly increasing membership (nearly one fifth of the world's population) tightly disciplined under the highly centralized control of Rome. " |
| Catholic | world | 560,000,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Carlisle, Richard (editor), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind vol. 19, Marshall Cavendish: Freeport, NY (1990); pg. 2494. | - |
| Catholic | world | 650,000,000 | - | - | 217 countries |
1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 220. | "Roman Catholic churches have been established in 217 countries, with a total membership of more than 650 million. The majority of Italians, Spanish, Irish, Austrians, Poles, Latin Americans, Belgians, Hungarians, Southern Germans, Portuguese, French, and Filipinos are baptized Roman Catholics. " |
| Catholic | world | 906,000,000 | 18.00% | - | - | 1990 | *LINK* web site: "SIM NOW " (Protestant site); web page: "A Catholic Snapshot " (viewed 5 March 1999); From World Religions Special Report (1998) by SIMNOW (published quarterly by SIM, 14830 Choate Circle, Charlotte, NC 28273 USA) | "In 1990 there were an estimated 906 million Roman Catholics, including baptized infants - approximately 18 percent of the world's population. " |
| Catholic | world | 851,000,000 | - | - | - | 1991 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991); pg. 66. | "There are over 851 million Roman Catholics worldwide. " |
| Catholic | world | 971,702,016 | - | - | - | 1993 | Faux, Marian (ed.). The New York Public Library Sudent's Desk Reference. New York: Prentice Hall (1993); pg. 270. | Table: "The World's Major Religions: How Big Are They? "; "Estimated number of followers of each religion. " Three Christian groups listed in table: 'Roman Catholic', 'Protestant', 'Orthodox Eastern'. |
| Catholic | world | - | - | - | - | 1993 | Faux, Marian (ed.). The New York Public Library Sudent's Desk Reference. New York: Prentice Hall (1993); pg. 272. | "Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in most of Western Europe and is stron gin the United States and in Latin America. " |
| Catholic | world | 900,000,000 | 16.67% | - | - | 1993 | O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); pg. 46-47. | "The Pope heads a global network which stretches out to 900 million Roman Catholics, one-sixth of the world's population. " |
| Catholic | world | 1,017,000,000 | - | - | - | 1993 | O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); pg. 109. | "The Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Catholic Church (or the Catholic Church) is the largest single group within a major world religion. Centred on the Vatican... it claims allegiance of 1017 million believers, and is served by 1.5 million professionals " |
| Catholic | world | 1,000,000,000 | - | - | - | 1993 | Rausch, David A. & Carl Hermann Voss. World Religions: Our Quest for Meaning; Trinity Press International: Valley Forge, PA (1993); pg. 169. | "The Roman Catholic church now approaches one billion adherents (counting every baptized infant, child, woman, and man, as the church does). " |
| Catholic | world | 1,042,500,992 | - | - | - | 1993 | *LINK* web site: "Wholesome Words: Worldwide Missions " by Stephen Ross, "First Edition, 1998 "; [original sources: The World Factbook 1997 (CIA, 1998)] | Table: "Major religions of the world (1993 est.) " |
| Catholic | world | 1,034,321,984 | 18.14% | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* [Orig. source: Barrett, David B. World Christian Encyclopedia (1994 Update)] | Of these, slightly over a billion (1,034,322,000) or 54 percent are Roman Catholic and 187,582,000 million or 9.9 percent are Orthodox. |
| Catholic | world | 968,000,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* 1996 Britannica Book of the Year | Catholicism: 968 million (since Pentecost, year 33) |
| Catholic | world | 989,366,016 | 17.40% | 220,077 units |
- | 1995 | 1998 Catholic Almanac: Our Sunday Visitor: USA (1997); pg. 368. | Table: Catholic World Statistics. Figures are as of Dec. 31, 1995.; "159,372 [of the 220,077 parishes] have parish priests "; "Catholic totals do not include those in areas that could not be surveyed, estimated to be 4.6 million. " |
