For the current 119th Congress (starting January 2025), there are four Muslim members in the U.S. House of Representatives: André Carson (D-IN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and newcomer Lateefah Simon (D-CA). This marks an increase from the previous session, with three returning members and one new addition.
As of 2025, five Muslims have been elected to Congress, the first being Keith Ellison in 2006. As of the 119th Congress, four Muslims currently serve in Congress, all in the House of Representatives, and all being members of the Democratic Party.
Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States (1.34%) after Christianity (67%) and Judaism (2.4%). The 2020 United States Religion Census estimates that there are about 4,453,908 Muslim Americans of all ages living in the United States in 2020, making up 1.34% of the total U.S. population.
Research shows that candidates that are perceived to be religious are considered more trustworthy. A 2020 PRRI American Values Survey found that of Democratic voters, 42% were Protestant while 23% identified as Catholic. The same survey found that of Republican voters, 54% were Protestant while only 18% were Catholic.
Most American Jews identify with or lean towards the Democratic Party, consistently outnumbering Republicans by a significant margin (around 70% Democratic vs. 29% Republican in recent polls), though this trend varies by age, religious observance, and political views, with Orthodox Jews showing more conservative leanings. While the community remains largely liberal, there are growing divisions, and a minority identifies as Republican, often driven by issues like strong support for Israel or economic conservatism.
There are 5,896 self-identified Muslims currently serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense. Most Muslims live in the major cosmopolitan areas of the U.S. The largest number are in New York State, followed by California, Illinois, and New Jersey.
In the U.S., 13% of adults who were brought up as Muslims no longer identify with any religion. In addition, a modest number of U.S. adults who were raised Muslim now identify as Christians (6%). The same is true in Kenya (8%) and Ghana (6%).
As with Christianity and Judaism, Islam's sacred texts have been used to oppress LGBTQ+ people across the centuries. A traditional reading of the Qur'an can lead to the condemnation of same-sex relationships and thus of same-sex marriage.
While various smaller faiths are growing, Islam is often cited as the fastest-growing religion in the U.S. due to high immigration and birth rates, projected by some to become the second-largest religion after Christianity. Christianity's evangelical and Pentecostal branches are also experiencing significant global and American growth, while Hinduism and Buddhism also see increases, but Islam's rapid demographic shift makes it a prominent contender for fastest growth in America.
In Islam, the 🧿 (Nazar or Evil Eye) symbol is considered a cultural superstition, not a religious one, and its use is generally prohibited (shirk or associating partners with Allah) because it relies on amulets for protection instead of trusting only in Allah. While the belief in the "evil eye" (nazar) itself is acknowledged as real in Islamic tradition, the recommended protection comes from reciting specific Quranic verses (like Surahs Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, Al-Nas, and Ayat al-Kursi) and specific supplications (duas), not from wearing charms or symbols.
Studies estimated about 30,000 converting to Islam annually in the United States. According to The New York Times, an estimated 25% of American Muslims are converts, these converts are mostly African American.
U.S. Catholics are nearly evenly split politically, with recent data showing a slight edge to Republicans among white Catholics and Democrats among Hispanic Catholics, but overall, roughly half lean Republican and half lean Democratic, making them a politically diverse group rather than a monolithic voting bloc. The partisan divide within the Catholic population mirrors the nation's broader political split, with differing views on key social issues like abortion, though many Catholics disagree with the Church's official stance on some matters.
Due to the 10–11 day difference between the lunar Hijri calendar and the solar Gregorian calendar, Muslims will witness rare cyclical events: two Ramadans in 2030 (starting in January and December) and three Eids in 2033 (two Eid al-Fitrs and one Eid al-Adha).
Sikhs, Muslims, and other religious groups serving in the U.S. military have been permitted to wear beards in uniform under religious accommodations since 2010.
Cities with large concentration of African-American Muslims include Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Newark, Washington. D.C., Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The Nation of Islam led by Louis Farrakhan has a membership ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 members.
Discrimination of Muslim Americans has been linked to stress-related outcomes such as paranoia and psychological distress. More than 50% of Muslim youths in the United States report experiencing bullying in schools. This early exposure to discrimination is likely to have cumulative health effects over the life course.
The largest numbers of immigrants derive from three main sources: South Asia, Iran, and the Arabic-speaking countries. The single largest group of Muslim immigrants is from South Asia (meaning Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan). They are followed by perhaps 300,000 Iranians and 600,000 from the Arab countries.
While Jewish Americans are statistically a high-income group with significant representation in wealthy professions, Asian Americans generally have the highest median household income, making them the richest ethnic group by that measure, though Jewish success is notable for high education levels, strong professional presence, and high-income earners compared to the overall US population.