Since 1860, blacks have dominated the population of Mississippi than any other state. By the end of the 1830s, blacks outnumbered whites 52% to 48%, and from the 1860s through the early 20th century, they made up about three-fifths of the population. However, in 2000, the proportion of black Mississippians had declined to about 36% in 2000 due to out-migration. In 2000, the state had 1,746,099 whites, 1,033,809 blacks, 18,626 Asians, 11,652 American Indians, and 667 Pacific Islanders and 39,569 (1.4%) Hispanics and Latinos.
Until the 1940s, the Chinese, who numbered 3,099 in 2000, were an intermediate layer between blacks and whites in the social hierarchy of the Delta Counties.
Protestants have dominated Mississippi since the late 18th century. Partly because of the strong church influence, Mississippi was among the first states in the US to ratify prohibition and among the last to revole it.
In 2000, memberships in the two principal Protestant denominations were the Southern Baptist Convention, 916,440 known adherents and the United Methodist Church, 240,576. There were about 115,760 Roman Catholics, 3,919 Muslims, and about 1,400 Jews. Over 1.2 million people (about 45.4% of the population) did not claim any religious affiliation.