Massachusetts

===Religion===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religious self-identification, per [[Public Religion Research Institute]]'s 2022 ''American Values Survey''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=February 24, 2023 |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas: Religious Tradition in Massachusetts|url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-MA|access-date=April 3, 2023 |website=[[Public Religion Research Institute]]}}</ref>
| label1 = [[Irreligion in the United States|Unaffiliated]]
| value1 = 34
| color1 = White
| label2 = [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]]
| value2 = 34
| color2 = Purple
| label3 = [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]
| value3 = 22
| color3 = Blue
| label4 = [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]
| value4 = 1
| color4 = Lightblue
| label5 = [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]/[[Unitarian Universalism|Universalist]]
| value5 = 1
| color5 = Teal
| label6 = [[Judaism in the United States|Judaism]]
| value6 = 3
| color6 = Pink
| label7 = [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]]
| value7 = 2
| color7 = Orange
| label8 = [[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhism]]
| value8 = 1
| color8 = Yellow
| label9 = [[New Age]]
| value9 = 1
| color9 = Red
| label10 = Other
| value10 = 1
| color10 = Black
}}

Massachusetts was founded and settled by [[Brownist]] [[Puritans]] in 1620,<ref name="puritans" /> and soon after by other groups of [[Ecclesiastical separatism|Separatists]]/[[English Dissenters|Dissenters]], [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]]s and [[Independent (religion)|Independents]] from [[17th-century denominations in England|17th century England]].{{sfn|Goldfield|Abbott|Anderson|Argersinger|1998|pp=29–30}} A majority of people in Massachusetts today remain [[Christians]].<ref name="qcensus" /> The descendants of the Puritans belong to many different churches; in the direct line of inheritance are the various [[Congregational church]]es, the [[United Church of Christ]] and congregations of the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]]. The headquarters of the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]], long located on [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]], is now located in [[South Boston]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uua.org/headquarters |title=Headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Association |access-date=April 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uua.org/news/press-release/uua-sell-its-beacon-hill-properties-move-innovation-district |title=The UUA to Sell its Beacon Hill Properties, Move to Innovation District |publisher=[[Unitarian Universalist Association]] |access-date=April 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417012851/http://www.uua.org/news/press-release/uua-sell-its-beacon-hill-properties-move-innovation-district |archive-date=April 17, 2015 }}</ref> Many Puritan descendants also dispersed to other Protestant denominations. Some disaffiliated along with Roman Catholics and other Christian groups in the wake of modern [[secularization]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Pellegrino |first1=Nicholas |title=Reviving a Spirit of Controversy: Roman Catholics and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom in Early America |date=May 2015 |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |doi=10.34917/7646017 |url=https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/2410/ |access-date=December 4, 2022}}</ref>

As of the 2014 Pew study, Christians made up 57% of the state's population, with [[Protestantism|Protestants]] making up 21% of them. [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]] made up 34% and now predominate because of massive immigration from primarily Catholic countries and regions—chiefly Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, and Latin America. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic communities have been in decline since the late 20th century, due to the rise of [[irreligion]] in [[New England]]. It is the most irreligious region of the country, along with the [[Western United States]]; for comparison and contrast however, in 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined 67% of the population were Christian reflecting a slight increase of religiosity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-MA |access-date=September 17, 2022 |website=ava.prri.org}}</ref> A significant Jewish population immigrated to the Boston and Springfield areas between 1880 and 1920. [[Jews]] make up 3% of the population. [[Mary Baker Eddy]] made the [[Christian Science Center|Boston Mother Church]] of [[Christian Science]] serve as the world headquarters of this [[new religious movement]]. [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], [[Paganism|Pagans]], [[Hindu]]s, [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Muslim]]s, and [[Mormons]] may also be found. [[The Satanic Temple]] has its headquarters in Salem. [[Kripalu Center]] in [[Stockbridge, Massachusetts|Stockbridge]], the Shaolin Meditation Temple in Springfield, and the Insight Meditation Center in [[Barre, Massachusetts|Barre]] are examples of non-Abrahamic religious centers in Massachusetts. According to 2010 data from The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]], (ARDA) the largest single denominations are the [[Catholic Church]] with 2,940,199 adherents; the [[United Church of Christ]] with 86,639 adherents; and the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] with 81,999 adherents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/25/rcms2010_25_state_family_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives &#124; State Membership Report |publisher=[[Association of Religion Data Archives]] |access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref>

In 2014, 32% of the population identified as having no religion;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/massachusetts/ |title=Adults in Massachusetts |date=May 11, 2015 |publisher=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref> in a separate 2020 study, 23% of the population identified as irreligious, and 67% of the population identified as Christians (including 26% as white Protestants and 20% as white Catholics).<ref name=":1" /> As of 2022, a plurality of Massachusettsans were [[Irreligion in the United States|irreligious]],<ref name=":1" /> and the state is considered to be a part of the [[Unchurched Belt]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Joanna |date=March 16, 2009 |title=New England surpasses West Coast as least religious region in America, study finds |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-16-me-beliefs16-story.html |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>