Religion in the one percent: A study of American elites

Abstract American elites—those in the top one percent of the income and wealth distributions—have enormous economic, political, and social influence. It was once taken for granted that affluent Americans were Mainline Protestants (MPs). However, shifting religious affiliations and demographic changes mirrored in the country's major religious groups suggest that this assumption may no longer hold. Studying elite religion is challenging because no survey data includes both a sample of the affluent and information about respondents' religious affiliations. To fill this gap, this paper synthesizes data from the Survey of Consumer Finances and the General Social Survey to document the religious affiliations of America's elites. Results show that today's one percent includes large numbers of Catholics and religious nones, as well as MPs. There are also notable numbers of Conservative Protestants in elite income and wealth positions, suggesting that SES convergence among Protestants may be occurring.