Military Religious Demographics

MAAF has completed a six-month effort to gather and review data on religious preference in the military. 23.4% profess no religious affiliation. More members profess Atheism specifically than those that profess Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or Judaism. These numbers show that nontheists are a significant demographic within the military. They deserve support just as all service members do.

MAAF has previous reports, including a 2002 Air Force study, and a 2004 study that included religious data. However, there were no truly comprehensive studies available, nor did they include studies of chaplain support. These studies were also not transparent with their data. MAAF solves these issues, providing a new study with transparent data for preferences of individual service members as well as chaplains.

We seek to address the common assertion of others that nontheists aren’t found in the military and our concern about certain evangelical Christians groups have been successful in skewing the military toward Christianity. Working with all branches of service and the department of defense, MAAF gathered the self-identified religious preference of all service members and the ecclesiastical endorsing agencies for chaplains. With nearly 400 unique stated denominations, we can be sure that evangelical Christianity alone can not be the only voice controlling the military. With nearly one in four service members not interested in faith-based solutions, the military must ensure its chaplains are open specifically to nontheists.

Previous Studies

• 2010 MAAF Department of Defense Study: Presentation and Source Data
• The Population Reference Bureau, an independent, private data analysis agency, shows military atheists comprise more than 20% of the population: PRB Report
• Airforce 2002 enlisted and officer religious demographics.