US Incarceration · Representation Index by Religion
Federal Prisons — BOP Official Data (2025)
Prison population share ÷ general population share — 1.0 = proportional, >1.0 = over-represented, <1.0 = under-represented.
Bureau of Prisons religious preference counts (FOIA 2025 snapshot, 153,121 inmates) vs.
Pew Research 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study (US adult population shares).
Christians split by denomination. Index = prison % ÷ population %.
Over-represented (index > 1.0)
Under-represented (index < 1.0)
Within ±10% of proportional
Religion
Group
Prison %
US Pop %
Index
✝️ Catholic
Christian
0.1768
0.1900
0.93
✅ Evangelical Protestant
Christian
0.0865
0.2300
0.38
✅ Mainline Protestant
Christian
0.0433
0.1100
0.39
✅ Hist. Black Protestant
Christian
0.0433
0.0500
0.87
📖 Mormon (LDS)
Christian
0.0035
0.0200
0.17
🕐️ Orthodox Christian
Christian
0.0023
0.0100
0.23
📕 Jehovah's Witness
Christian
0.0068
0.0040
1.70
🕋️ Muslim
Other
0.1031
0.0100
10.31
✱️ Jewish
Other
0.0214
0.0200
1.07
☼️ Buddhist
Other
0.0110
0.0100
1.10
🔬️ Hindu
Other
0.0017
0.0100
0.17
🌙 Pagan / Wiccan
Other
0.0278
0.0040
6.94
🦄 Native American Spirituality
Other
0.0360
0.0060
6.00
🟢 Rastafarian
Other
0.0238
0.0005
47.58
⚛️ Atheist / Agnostic
None
0.0012
0.1100
0.01
Combined Federal + State Estimates (blended)
Blending BOP 2025 federal data with Pew Research 2012 state prison chaplain estimates
(51% Protestant, 15% Catholic, 9% Muslim, 2% Jewish, 0.8% Mormon among state inmates).
Federal prisons hold ~153k; state + federal sentenced prisoners total ~1.2M (BJS, YE2024).
Weighted 88% state + 12% federal.
Over-represented (index > 1.0)
Under-represented (index < 1.0)
Within ±10% of proportional
Religion
Group
Prison %
US Pop %
Index
✝️ Catholic
Christian
0.1532
0.1900
0.81
✅ Evangelical Protestant
Christian
0.2348
0.2300
1.02
✅ Mainline Protestant
Christian
0.0725
0.1100
0.66
✅ Hist. Black Protestant
Christian
0.1623
0.0500
3.25
📖 Mormon (LDS)
Christian
0.0075
0.0200
0.37
🕐️ Orthodox / Other Christian
Christian
0.0202
0.0300
0.67
🕋️ Muslim
Other
0.0916
0.0100
9.16
✱️ Jewish
Other
0.0202
0.0200
1.01
☼️ Buddhist
Other
0.0106
0.0100
1.06
🔬️ Hindu
Other
0.0015
0.0100
0.15
⚛️ Atheist / Agnostic / None
None
0.1497
0.2900
0.52
Data Sources & Methodology
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) — Religious Preference of Inmates, FOIA data 2025 snapshot. Snapshot total: 153,121 inmates. The BOP has retired its public inmate-religion statistics page; current total BOP population was 154,093 at YE2024 (BJS) and 155,270 at FY2025 year-end (BOP). bop.gov — Population Statistics
Bureau of Justice Statistics — "Federal Prisoner Statistics Collected Under the First Step Act, 2025" (published March 2026). Federal prison population 154,093 at YE2024, down ~1% from 155,972 at YE2023. bjs.ojp.gov — Federal Prisoner Statistics (FSA 2025)
Pew Research Center — "Religion in Prisons: A 50-State Survey of Prison Chaplains" (2012). State prison estimates from chaplain surveys. This remains the most recent comprehensive state-chaplain dataset. pewresearch.org — Religion in Prisons
Pew Research Center — "Religious Landscape Study" 2023–24 (fielded Jul 2023–Mar 2024, published Feb 2025). US adult religious composition: 62% Christian (40% Protestant, 19% Catholic, 3% other Christian), 29% religiously unaffiliated, 7% other religions (2% Jewish; ~1% each Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu). pewresearch.org — Religious Landscape Study
US DOJ Office of Inspector General — Audit of BOP Religious Services (March 2020). ~70% of BOP inmates claim a faith. justice.gov — OIG
Representation Index: (% of prison population identifying as X) ÷ (% of US adult population identifying as X).
An index of 1.0 means exactly proportional. Values above 1.0 indicate over-representation in prison; below 1.0 indicates under-representation. Caveats: Prison religious affiliation is self-reported and may reflect conversions during incarceration (especially Islam).
Federal percentages are computed against the full FOIA snapshot total (153,121); "No Preference" (31,295) and "Unknown" (5,358) inmates — roughly 24% of the snapshot — are not broken out as religious groups.
State prison data relies on 2012 chaplain estimates (impressionistic, not official counts).
Socioeconomic confounders (poverty, education, geography) strongly influence incarceration rates and are not controlled for here. This chart shows correlation, not causation.