Americans and religion.

• Position: GRAPH

For use with "Who Gets to Work at Abercrombie?" on p. 8 of the magazine

In the case E.E.O.C. v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing how far private companies should have to go to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees (see article, p. 8). The case involves a young Muslim woman, but the Court's ruling could have wide-reaching implications for Americans of all religious stripes. Examine the two pie charts below to get a better understanding of who the decision is likely to affect today and in the future.

The chart below, left, shows the religious composition of the U.S. today. The chart below, right, projects the religious composition for 2050 based on data on age, fertility, mortality, migration, and changes in affiliation.

RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION OF THE U.S., 2010 * UNAFFILIATED 16.4% CHRISTIANS 78.3% JEWS 1.8% BUDDHISTS 1.2% MUSLIMS 0.9% OTHER 0.8% HINDUS 0.6% RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION OF THE U.S., 2050 (PROJECTED) UNAFFILIATED 25.6% CHRISTIANS 66.4% JEWS 1.4% BUDDHISTS 1.4% MUSLIMS 2.1% HINDUS 1.2% OTHER 2.0% NOTE: FIGURES MAY NOT TOTAL 100% DUE TO ROUNDING. * LATEST DATA AVAILABLE. Note: Table made from pie chart. ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. Which of these groups is not expected to increase as a percentage of the U.S. population by 2050?

   a Buddhists

   b Jews

   c Hindus

   d Unaffiliated

2. Between 2010 and 2050, the percentage of Christians in the U.S. is expected to --.

   a remain the same

   b drop by about 6 percentage points

   c drop by about 12 percentage points

   d be cut in half

3. Which non-Christian affiliation is expected to make up the greatest percentage of Americans in 2050?

   a Muslims

   b Buddhists

   c Hindus

   d Jews

4. In 2010, Catholic Christians made up about 23 percent of the U.S. population. Non-Catholic Christians made up about --.

   a 78 percent

   b 66 percent

   c 55 percent

   d 34 percent

5. The U.S. is expected to have about 400 million people in 2050. About --...