The history of religion in Maine reflects a combination of colonial Puritan foundations, maritime Baptist revivals, and substantial French-Canadian Catholic immigration. Today, Roman Catholicism represents the largest individual religious tradition, alongside historic Protestant village churches and one of the highest percentages of religiously unaffiliated residents in the United States.
Overview of Religion in Maine
According to findings from the 2014 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, approximately 60 percent of adult residents in Maine identify as Christian. Roman Catholics and Mainline Protestants each account for 21 percent of the adult population, while Evangelical Protestants comprise 14 percent, and Historically Black Protestant denominations represent 2 percent. Non-Christian faith traditions collectively encompass 2 percent of the population. Notably, 37 percent of adults in Maine identify as religiously unaffiliated—claiming no institutional religion—placing Maine alongside neighboring Vermont and New Hampshire among the least religious states in North America.
When evaluated through institutional affiliation, the 2020 US Religion Census identifies the Catholic Church as the largest denomination in Maine by total adherents, reporting over 230,000 members organized under the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. Among Protestant bodies, the United Church of Christ, which descends from the historic Puritan Congregational churches, maintains an influential presence alongside American Baptist Churches USA and the United Methodist Church. In national comparisons detailed in our study of Catholic churches by state, Maine displays the distinctive northern New England pattern where Catholicism is the single largest organized faith body despite widespread civic secularity.
Directory Distribution: Denominations in Maine
Our statewide church directory catalogs 193 congregations across Maine, reflecting the historical distribution of maritime and manufacturing communities. Parishes representing Catholic churches in Maine form the single largest category in our directory, totaling 47 congregations, or 24.4 percent of all listings. These parishes serve as community anchors in industrial river valleys, coastal ports, and northern timber counties.
Congregations cataloged under Presbyterian and Reformed churches in Maine represent the second-largest category with 34 listings (17.6 percent). In Maine, this classification primarily includes historic Congregational assemblies affiliated with the United Church of Christ, whose white-steepled sanctuaries remain the architectural centerpieces of picturesque village greens. Congregations affiliated with Baptist churches in Maine follow closely as the third-largest group with 32 listings (16.6 percent), continuing a long regional tradition of independent frontier and maritime ministry.
Methodist congregations rank fourth with 26 listings (13.5 percent), maintaining fellowships in coastal and inland farming towns. Episcopal and Anglican parishes record 14 listings (7.3 percent), preserving a legacy of colonial English heritage in southern coastal communities. Non-denominational evangelical congregations number 12 listings (6.2 percent), while Pentecostal fellowships account for 11 listings (5.7 percent). Lutheran churches record 7 listings (3.6 percent), followed by Jewish synagogues with 3 listings (1.6 percent), Holiness / Church of the Nazarene congregations with 2 listings (1.0 percent), and Eastern Orthodox parishes with 2 listings (1.0 percent). Directory records also include Seventh-day Adventist congregations, Metaphysical centers, and Latter-day Saint meetinghouses.
Settlement History and Religious Roots
The religious roots of Maine began in maritime commerce and colonial Massachusetts governance. Throughout the colonial period and early statehood until 1820, Maine was administered as the District of Maine within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Consequently, the Puritan Congregational Church operated as the established civic religion in coastal towns such as Kittery, York, and Falmouth (present-day Portland). Town meetinghouses served both sacred and civil functions, supported by community taxation.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Baptist evangelists challenged Congregational authority along the Maine frontier. Preachers such as Isaac Backus and Hezekiah Smith traveled through mid-coast fishing hamlets and rural logging camps, gaining thousands of converts attracted to believer's baptism and congregational autonomy. Baptists established deep educational institutions in Maine, founding Colby College in Waterville in 1813 and Bates College in Lewiston in 1855, the latter founded by Free Will Baptists as one of the first coeducational colleges in New England.
In northernmost Maine, the upper Saint John River Valley developed a distinct Acadian Catholic culture. Beginning in 1785, French-speaking Acadians settled Madawaska and surrounding borderlands after enduring expulsion from Nova Scotia by British forces. These Acadian pioneers erected Catholic parishes and maintained French language and folk traditions along the Canadian border that persist today.
Between 1865 and 1920, the rapid expansion of textile and paper manufacturing along Maine's rivers drew hundreds of thousands of French-Canadian immigrants from Quebec. Cities such as Lewiston, Biddeford, Waterville, and Augusta became thriving Franco-American centers. These immigrant families established tight-knit parochial communities centered around massive brick churches, French-language parochial schools, and mutual benefit societies. In Lewiston, French-Canadian mill workers constructed the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, dedicated in 1936, which remains the second-largest church in New England.
Maine is also home to a unique chapter in American communal religion. In 1783, followers of Ann Lee founded the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester. Living by principles of celibacy, communal property, simplicity, and pacifism, the Shakers became famous for exquisite craftsmanship and agricultural seed distribution. Today, Sabbathday Lake is celebrated worldwide as the only active Shaker community remaining on earth.
Notable Historic Churches and Landmarks
Maine features several historic religious structures that reflect its architectural and cultural heritage. The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston stands as an imposing monument of Franco-American Catholic devotion. Designed in High Gothic style, the massive granite edifice features twin 168-foot towers, exquisite stained-glass windows, and a monumental Casavant Frères pipe organ.
In Portland, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception serves as the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Portland. Dedicated in 1869 following the Great Portland Fire, the Gothic Revival cathedral features a 204-foot spire that has served as a navigational landmark for ships entering Casco Bay for over a century. In nearby New Gloucester, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village preserves original eighteenth- and nineteenth-century wooden meetinghouses, communal workshops, and herb gardens.
In Newcastle, Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, dedicated in 1808, is recognized as the oldest active Roman Catholic church building in New England. Constructed of local brick, the church features a historic bell cast by Boston patriot Paul Revere. In Portland's downtown, the 1825 granite First Parish Church represents the mother church of Portland's colonial Congregational heritage, while in Brunswick, the historic First Parish Church on the Bowdoin College campus is famous as the pew where Harriet Beecher Stowe received the vision for Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Churches in Major Maine Communities
Because Maine is predominantly rural and forested, places of worship cluster around coastal harbors and inland river cities. Searching our statewide directory for churches in Maine illustrates the concentration of worship communities across regional hubs.
Portland represents the largest municipal congregational center, with 20 directory listings. Searching for churches in Portland connects worshipers with historic downtown basilicas, historic harbor churches, and diverse immigrant assemblies in Cumberland County. To the north along the Penobscot River, churches in Bangor account for 14 listings, serving as the commercial and religious anchor for central and northern Maine. In the industrial heartland, churches in Lewiston record 10 listings, highlighting historic Franco-American Catholic parishes and newer Somali Muslim community organizations. Nearby Brunswick records 9 listings near Bowdoin College, while growing Gorham in Cumberland County also records 9 listings.
Regional Comparisons: Maine and Its Neighbors
Maine occupies a distinctive geographic position within New England, combining deep maritime traditions with vast northern wilderness areas. As discussed in our comprehensive overview of religion in the Northeast, Maine shares several cultural patterns with surrounding states.
To the west, religion in New Hampshire presents a nearly identical religious profile, characterized by high rates of religious non-affiliation, historic Congregational village greens, and French-Canadian Catholic mill heritage in cities like Manchester and Nashua. Across northern New England as a whole, Maine and its neighbors demonstrate a strong culture of personal independence where formal religious participation is lower than in southern New England or the Mid-Atlantic, even as historic sanctuaries remain cherished civic landmarks.