The Catholic Church is the largest denomination in America, with just over 20 percent of Americans identifying as Catholic. Across many of the country’s other most-practiced religions, stances on women as leaders vary widely. The largest mainline Protestant denominations generally ordain female clergy; the largest evangelical denominations generally do not.
Most of this data comes from the Pew Research Center. All of these are generalizations — in almost every denomination, some churches differ.
Christian denominations
Southern Baptist Convention (evangelical, 5 percent of Americans): no
United Methodist Church (mainline Protestant, 3.6 percent): yes
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon, 1.6 percent): no
American Baptist Churches (mainline Protestant, 1.5 percent): yes
National Baptist Convention (historically black Protestant, 1.4 percent): yes
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (mainline Protestant, 1.4 percent): yes
Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod (evangelical, 1.1 percent): no
Episcopal Church (mainline Protestant, 0.9 percent): yes
Presbyterian Church USA (mainline Protestant, 0.9 percent): yes
Presbyterian Church in America (evangelical, 0.4 percent): no
Other religions
Jewish (1.9 percent): The Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist denominations ordain female clergy; Orthodox Jews largely do not.
Muslim (0.9 percent): no
Buddhist (0.7 percent): yes
Want more stories about faith? Follow Acts of Faith on Twitter or sign up for our newsletter.