A recent study found that one-fifth of respondents had read either The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan) or the “Left Behind” series of apocalyptic novels, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Even more-28.5%-had read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Doubleday), the study found, but the book had little impact on churchgoers.

The survey on American Piety in the 21st Century was conducted by the Baylor University sociology department and the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion as the first in a series on the spiritual life of Americans.

Researchers found that only 10.8% of Americans had no ties to a congregation, denomination or faith group, The Inquirer reported. Previous surveys had put that figure at 14%, overlooking about 10 million people involved in some form of organized religion, the report said. Other surveys have also overlooked millions more evangelicals, because those who belonged to nondenominational groups or megachurches would often report no denomination and were wrongly counted as unaffiliated, the study's authors said.

Baylor researchers found that one-third of Americans are evangelical Protestant, just under one-quarter are mainline Protestant, one-fifth are Roman Catholic, and 5% are black Protestant. Jews are 2.5% of the population, while 5% of Americans belong to other faiths.

The rest, though not involved in religious groups, are not fully secular, researchers said. More than 60% said they believe in God or a higher power, and nearly one-third said they pray, while 11% said they believe Jesus is the Son of God.

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