Religious Trends

“Although 21% to 24% of us say we regularly attend religious services, research tracking people’s actual behavior shows that in fact the number may be as low as 5%. (Regular attendance is defined in the Post article as going to services at least three out of four weeks.)” - Religion Unplugged

“Certain truths, however, incline me to be more hopeful…. religiosity has undulated throughout American history…. Another solace is that serious evils have arisen even in more-Christian eras, and this country has defeated them” - Acton

“Around 7 in 10 (69%) believe people’s perceptions of Christians in the U.S. are getting worse, while 21% disagree. Another 10% say they aren’t sure.” - Lifeway

“For the first time, a majority of people in Scotland say they are not religious….In the 2022 census, 51.1% of respondents said they had ‘no religion,’ up from 36.7% in 2011.” - BBC

“it has become crystal clear to me now: the share of non-religious Americans has stopped rising in any meaningful way.” - Ryan Burge

Among white mainline protestants, only 31% say so; among white evangelical protestants, 76%, among those who attend church weekly, 91%. - PRRI

“According to the General Social Survey, religiously unaffiliated people …is around 30% today…. only about 4% of U.S. adults identify as an atheist.” - RNS

“Devin Pope didn’t think so either. Instead of relying on the answers people traditionally give to pollsters, Pope decided to use cellphone data to confirm who was really going. If a new study is accurate, people have been lying about going to church. A lot.” - Daily Citizen

“About three-in-ten U.S. Catholics (28%) say they attend Mass weekly or more often. Larger shares of Catholics say they pray on a daily basis (52%) and say religion is very important in their life (46%).” - Pew

“67% who left a faith tradition did so because they simply stopped believing in that religion’s teachings.” - Church & Culture