Church attendance

Church attendance refers to the reception of religious services offered by a particular church, or more generally, by any religious organisation.

Participation statistics

Gallup International indicates that 41%^[1] of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens,^[2] and 7.5% of Australian citizens.^[3]

However, these numbers are open to dispute. ReligiousTolerance.org states:

"Church attendance data in the U.S. has been checked against actual values using two different techniques. The true figures show that only about 21% of Americans and 10% of Canadians actually go to church one or more times a week. Many Americans and Canadians tell pollsters that they have gone to church even though they have not. Whether this happens in other countries, with different cultures, is difficult to predict."^[1]

In addition, Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves found during the early 1990s that church attendance was only about 20% on an average Sunday in one rural Ohio county, whereas self-reported church attendance was 36%. Many people over-report church attendance because of their self-perception and identity as churchgoing people; this indicates a certain psychological aspect to the overreporting of church attendance. Although questions of church attendance are intended by polling organizations to study Americans' religious behavior, many respondents view them as questions about their identity. This is especially true among those Americans who consider themselves "regular churchgoers." Despite many news outlets attempting to cash in on these findings by claiming that Americans "lie" about their church attendance, Hadaway et. al. have been extremely wary of accusing these over-reporters of dishonesty; as they found in one study, those who over-report do so mainly to maintain perceptions of themselves as "churched" Americans, not because they are afraid to reveal to the interviewer that they are "bad Christians."^[4] If anything, it could be argued that they are lying to themselves.

In, a 2006 online Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults (18 and older) found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 9% went "once or twice a month", 21% went "a few times a year", 3% went "once a year", 22% went "less than once a year", and 18% never attend religious services. An identical survey by Harris in 2003 found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 11% went "once or twice a month" 19% went "a few times a year", 4% went "once a year", 16% went "less than once a year", and 25% never attend religious services.

The country with the highest rate of church attendance in the world is Nigeria (89%).^[5] Nigeria is unusual, as it is very religiously diverse - the population is 50.5% Muslim, 48.2% Christian. Other examples tend to be religiously homogenous.

Weekly church attendance statistics

Country	Attendance (%)	Country	Attendance (%)	Country	Attendance (%)	Country	Attendance (%)
Austria	18% [6]	Belgium	7% [7]	Canada	20%[8]	Denmark	3% [6]
Cyprus	25% [6]	Czech Republic	11% [6]	Estonia	4% [6]	Finland	5% [6]
France	12% [9]	Greece	27% [6]	Hungary	12% [6]	Iceland	10% [10]
Ireland	54% [6]	Italy	31% [6]	Latvia	7% [6]	Lithuania	14% [6]
Malta	75% [6]	Norway	3% [11]	Poland	63% [6]	Portugal	29% [6]
Slovakia	33% [6]	Slovenia	18% [6]	Spain	21% [6]	Sweden	5% [6]
United Kingdom	14% [12]	United States	43%[13]

Trends in church attendance

Church attendance in developed countries has gradually declined. Research has attributed this to lack of motivation, negative media coverage of religion and boredom during the services.^[14] One study published in the Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, however, argues that at least in America, church attendance since the 1990s has remained stable at 25%.^[15] A Gallup poll found that church attendance among Protestants has remained stable at roughly 45% since 1955, while church attendance among Catholics has dropped from 75% to 45%, although it has remained stable since 1995, despite negative stories in the news.^[16] Another Gallup poll found a slight increase in church attendance over the past two years; associating this with an aging population.^[17] This decline is particularly pronounced in European countries, where it is suggested that the secular culture overrides interest in religion.

Demographics of church attendees

Church attendance remains stronger among older adherents, and more common in women.^[18][19] Some research asserts that younger generations show greater levels of religious adherence than the baby boomers, many of whom brought up their children in a non-religious environment.^[20]

Another study associated church attendance with decreased risk of Alzheimer's Disease.^[21]

The Pew Research Center has linked weekly church attendance with happiness.^[22] The Iona Institute found increasing church attendance in Ireland, despite sex-abuse claims within the dominant Catholic Church.^[23] The authors suggest the rise is due to the effects of the recession.

A 2005 EU survey found that belief was higher among women, increased with age, those leaning towards right-wing politics, and those reflecting more upon philosophical and ethical issues.^[24]

Studies in general indicate that there is a higher rate of church attendance among married couples and those with bachelor's degrees than any other group. For instance, in a Pew Research survey from 1996, approximately 34% of high school dropouts went to church on a typical Sunday, while 44% of those with a college degree or higher did.^[25] 48% of married individuals attended church on a typical Sunday, compared to 29% of divorced and 31% of never-married individuals. While it is likely that the well-educated and married might over-report their church attendance more often, nevertheless these findings demonstrate that they have maintained a stronger church-going identity than other Americans.

Influence of men on church attendance

Switzerland released a study in 2000 which concluded that the religious practice of the father of the family determines the future attendance or absence from church by the children. If both father and mother attend regularly, 33 percent of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41 percent will end up attending irregularly. A quarter of their children will end up not practicing at all. If the father is irregular and mother regular, 3 percent of the children will subsequently become regulars themselves, while a further 59 percent will become irregulars. Thirty-eight percent will not attend at all. If the father is non-practicing and mother regular, 2 percent of children will become regular worshippers, and 37 percent will attend irregularly. About 60 percent of their children will not attend at all.

In short, if a father does not go to church, no matter how faithful his wife’s devotions, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshipper. If a father does go regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). If a father goes but irregularly to church, regardless of his wife’s devotion, between half and two-thirds of their offspring will attend church regularly or occasionally.

A non-practicing mother with a regular father will see a minimum of two-thirds of her children ending up at church. In contrast, a non-practicing father with a regular mother will see two-thirds of his children not attending church. If his wife is similarly irregular that figure rises to 80 percent.^[26][27]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "How many people go regularly to weekly religious services?". Religious Tolerance website. http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_rate.htm. 
2. ^ "One in 10 attends church weekly [1] publisher = BBC News". 
3. ^ [2] NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance], National Church Life Survey, Media release,
4. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_60/ai_55208518/?tag=content;col1
5. ^ http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_ratefor.htm
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} http://www.gallup.com/poll/13117/religion-europe-trust-filling-pews.aspx
7. ^ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=GU71U2MRQ
8. ^ http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_rate.htm
9. ^ Sennott, Charles M. (2005-05-02). "Catholic Church withers in Europe". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/05/02/catholic_church_withers_in_europe/. 
10. ^ http://kirkjan.is/skjol/truarlif_islendinga_2004.pdf
11. ^ http://viaintegra.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/norway-church-attendancewomen-priestswomen-bishops/
12. ^ "'One in 10' attends church weekly". BBC News. 2007-04-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6520463.stm. 
13. ^ http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_rate.htm
14. ^ http://www.cra.org.au/pages/00000242.cgi
15. ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/novemberweb-only/145-42.0.html
16. ^ http://www.gallup.com/poll/117382/church-going-among-catholics-slides-tie-protestants.aspx
17. ^ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/culture/family/4033-more-americans-are-going-to-church
18. ^ http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=137
19. ^ http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=136
20. ^ "Young Americans more loyal to religion than Boomers". Reuters. 2010-08-06. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67556L20100806. 
21. ^ http://geoconger.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/church-attendance-helps-combat-depression-study-finds/
22. ^ http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/?chartid=5
23. ^ http://www.ionainstitute.ie/assets/files/Press_Release_by_The_Iona_Institute_2Nov2009-1.pdf
24. ^ "Eurobarometer 225: Social values, Science & Technology" (PDF). Eurostat. 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-21. 
25. ^ http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Analysis/96KOHUT/96KOHUT_Var63_1.asp
26. ^ The Truth About Men & Church On the Importance of Fathers to Churchgoing By Robbie Low
27. ^ CHURCH ATTENDANCE: The family, feminism and the declining role of fatherhood By Richard Egan