Protestantism is the largest grouping of
Christians in the United States, with its combined
denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population (or 141 million people) in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population (or 157 million people) is Protestant. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total
Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world.
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original
Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only
Maryland having a sizable
Catholic population due to
Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.
The country's history is often traced back to the
Pilgrim Fathers whose
Brownist beliefs motivated their move from
England to the
New World. These
English Dissenters
English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries.
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and ...
, who also happened to be