Survey: White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘nones’ shrink The ‘unprecedented’ dataset also suggests that white Christian decline, which accelerated in recent years, appears to have slowed. Hundreds gathered at Times Square for an interfaith Shabbat lighting ceremony in late 2017 to celebrate religious diversity. Photo courtesy of Abe’s Eats July 8, 2021 (RNS) — White Christian decline has slowed. Mainline Protestants now outnumber white evangelicals. New York is home to several of the most religiously diverse counties in the U.S. These shifts and findings are among some of the notable revelations documented in a sweeping and exhaustive survey of the U.S. religious landscape by the Public Religion Research Institute.