Churches in Rhode Island

Religious Landscape of Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the most Catholic state in America by percentage of population, with roughly 42% of residents identifying as Catholic. This concentration reflects the massive waves of Irish, Italian, Portuguese, French-Canadian, and Cape Verdean immigration that transformed the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Diocese of Providence, which covers the entire state, oversees a dense network of parishes that have been consolidating in recent decades as attendance has declined. Rhode Island holds a unique place in American religious history as the colony founded by Roger Williams on the principle of religious liberty and separation of church and state. The First Baptist Church in America, established in Providence in 1638, still holds services today. The Episcopal Church has historic parishes, particularly in Newport, which was a center of colonial-era Anglican worship. Mainline Protestant congregations are present but small relative to the Catholic majority. Non-denominational and evangelical churches have a modest but growing presence. Rhode Island also has historic Jewish and Quaker communities. Touro Synagogue in Newport, built in 1763, is the oldest surviving synagogue building in America. Rhode Island's adherence rate of about 56% is well above the national average, driven almost entirely by Catholic identification.