how many Americans go to church, and why?
[tables omitted here too - note that the “sociability” reason for =
attending church, frequently cited on this list, is given by just 1 =
in 8 respondents - it’s mostly about faith & spirituality]
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=3D27124
April 06, 2007 Just Why Do Americans Attend Church? Those who don’t attend have variety of reasons for their behavior
by Frank Newport GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ — More than 40% of Americans claim to attend church or =
synagogue regularly, and only about 15% say they never attend. Easter =
is one of two times a year, along with Christmas, when pews are =
filled to capacity in many churches, bringing to mind the question: =
Just why do Americans attend church?
Researchers have spent a good deal of time over the years =
investigating American churchgoing behavior, developing theories that =
range from the sociological benefit of religious ritual in promoting =
group solidarity to the practical benefits derived from participation =
in community social gatherings. And, of course, there are those who =
argue that the reason for church attendance is quite simple: It is =
the rational response of humans who feel the need to worship a real =
and powerful God.
Researchers know a lot about the types of people who are most likely =
to attend worship services in the United States today. There is a =
strong relationship between age and church attendance, with older =
Americans much more likely to attend than younger Americans. There is =
a strong gender effect, with women of all ages more likely than men =
to attend. There are region-specific effects, with residents of =
Southern states and of Utah much more likely to attend than New =
England or West Coast residents. There is a race effect, with black =
Americans much more likely to attend church services on average than =
white Americans. And there is an effect within specific religious =
denominations, with members of evangelical non-Catholic Christian =
denominations and Mormons more likely to attend than those who =
identify with traditional mainline Protestant denominations.
These relationships can lead to inferential hypotheses attempting to =
explain why people attend church. As a prominent example, it appears =
reasonable to hypothesize that older Americans are more likely to be =
religious and attend church because they are more immediately facing =
the prospect of death. There has been speculation as well about a =
possible evolutionary basis for the gender gap in church attendance.
To come at the fascinating issue of church attendance in a slightly =
different way, a recent Gallup Panel survey asked Americans about =
their usual church-attending behavior, and followed up with an open- =
ended question asking them to explain their attendance or lack =
thereof in their own words.
The responses to this question in this survey are roughly in line =
with Gallup trends. The average responses for this measure for all of =
2006 were 31% reporting attending once a week, 12% almost every week, =
15% about once a month, 28% seldom, and 14% never.
Those who reported attending at least once a month — 55% of the =
current sample — were asked to explain why they attend.
Most of the explanations churchgoers give for church attendance are =
straightforward and in line with what might be expected. Some =
Americans indicate attending church for explicitly religious reasons =
(”to worship God,” “it’s my faith,” “believe in God”), while others =
have a somewhat more general, spiritual rationale (”for spiritual =
growth,” “keeps me grounded and inspired”).
Sociologists have theorized over the years that Americans may attend =
church because such behavior serves explicit social functions, i.e., =
the ability to socialize with other members of the community, making =
business contacts, developing friends, and maintaining one’s =
presentation of self and status in the community. Those reasons may =
be accurate in some ways, but they are not explicitly acknowledged =
when churchgoers are asked to self-report on their reasons for their =
behavior. Only 13% of churchgoers provide this type of rationale in =
the current survey.
Women are more frequent church attenders than men, but the reasons =
men and women give do not differ significantly. Women are slightly =
more likely to mention that they attend because of a need to keep =
grounded and inspired, and for social reasons, but the differences =
are not large.
The biggest difference between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians =
in self-reported reasons for church attendance occurs in the area of =
fellowship. Few Catholics mention that they go to church in order to =
have the fellowship of other worshippers or because of a sense of =
community, while this rationale is given by 17% of non-Catholic =
Christians. Catholics, on the other hand, are slightly more likely to =
say they attend in order to be kept grounded and inspired, and =
because it’s their faith.
Reasons for Not Attending Church
Americans who say they attend church only seldom or never — a little =
over 40% of the adult population — give a variety of reasons for =
their non-attendance.
There are two groups of reasons why Americans seldom or never attend =
church. The first is what can be called “rational” reasons, or =
reasons based on more explicit decisions or patterns of belief. These =
include such things as disagreement with organized religion and what =
it preaches, a basic lack of belief in going to church, and a =
straightforward statement of being an atheist or not believing in God.
The second set of reasons are practical, and don’t by themselves =
signify any specific opposition to attending church, but rather an =
acknowledgment that respondents’ life situations get in the way of =
their going to religious services. These include such basic responses =
as “don’t have time” or “don’t get around to it,” not having a church =
they like, being lazy, and a few other specific reasons.
Bottom Line
There are no great surprises in these self-reported explanations for =
churchgoing behavior. Americans who frequently attend church services =
tend to mention either an explicitly religious rationale for their =
attendance (”to worship God”) or one that deals with the spiritual =
dimension (”to seek spirituality or inspiration”). A relatively small =
number of churchgoers say they seek a sense of community or social =
interaction with their fellow worshippers.
Those who seldom or never attend church can be split into two groups: =
those who have fairly well-developed reasons for not attending (”I =
don’t believe in God,” “I don’t agree with what organized religion =
teaches”) and those who are willing to admit that they just don’t get =
around to it, don’t have time, or are just plain “lazy.”
Those who study religious behavior often focus on more underlying =
reasons for church attendance, such as habit, socialization, need for =
community, business, development, and validation of one’s status and =
standing in the community. These reasons are infrequently given by =
church attenders themselves, suggesting that the explanations =
attenders give are more accurate, more easily at hand cognitively, or =
more normatively acceptable.
Survey Methods
Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with =
1,006 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 26-29, =
- Respondents were drawn from Gallup’s nationally representative =
household panel, which was originally recruited through random =
selection methods. For results based on the total sample of national =
adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of =
sampling error is =B14 percentage points. In addition to sampling =
error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting =
surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public =
opinion polls.