How Many Americans Attend Worship Each Week? An Alternative Approach to Measurement

Opinion polls indicate that over 40 percent of Americans attend worship services each week. However, attendance counts in several North American counties and Roman Catholic dioceses suggest that worship attendance may be much lower. In this article a new measurement strategy is used to estimate tota...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the scientific study of religion 2005-09, Vol.44 (3), p.307-322
Main Authors: HADAWAY, C. KIRK, MARLER, PENNY LONG
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attendance
Catholicism
Children
Christianity
Church Attendance
Church congregations
Church membership
Congregations
Data analysis
Demography
Empirical research
Geographic location
Opinion Polls
Orthodox Church
Population estimates
Protestantism
Public opinion polls
Religiosity
Religious practice
Rites & ceremonies
Social conditions & trends
Social research
Synagogues
U.S.A
United States of America
Worship services
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Summary:Opinion polls indicate that over 40 percent of Americans attend worship services each week. However, attendance counts in several North American counties and Roman Catholic dioceses suggest that worship attendance may be much lower. In this article a new measurement strategy is used to estimate total weekly worship attendance. First, using a variety of resources we develop an estimate of the total number of religious congregations in the United States by religious family. Contrary to many published sources, the total number of congregations is estimated at just over 330,000. Second, using known population values and sample-based attendance counts we develop estimates of average weekly worship attendance for religious congregations by religious family. The resulting totals suggest that fewer than 22 percent of Americans attend worship services each week. This lower level of attendance provides further evidence that Americans tend to overreport worship participation and are less religiously active than the polls show.
ISSN:0021-8294
1468-5906
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00288.x