Church Attendance
A compilation of several national surveys taken by Barna Research provides the following statistics and analyses of church attendance trends:
Forty-five percent of American adults attend church on a typical weekend, not including a special event such as a wedding or a funeral. (2005)
From the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties, church attendance was on a roller-coaster ride. In 1986, 42 percent of adults attended a church service during a typical week in January. Attendance rose steadily, reaching a peak of 49 percent in 1991, before beginning a very slow but steady descent back to 43 percent in January 2004.
Forty percent of men nationwide, compared with 50 percent of women, have attended a church service, not including a special event such as a wedding or a funeral, in the past seven days. (2005)
During a typical month, six out of ten unchurched adults worship God (but not via church services).
Married people are more likely than singles to attend church on a typical weekend, 53 percent versus 37 percent respectively. (2005)
Blacks (50%) are the ethnic group most likely to have attended a religious service in the past week, followed by whites (47%), Hispanics (40%) and Asians (36%). (2005)
More information from Barna Research about church attendance can be found in their archives at www.barna.org.