Fewer and fewer Americans are attending regular religious services. As of 2023, less than 30 percent of Americans attended religious services weekly or almost weekly, a significant drop from the 42 percent reported two decades ago, according to recent Gallup data. Just 21 percent of Americans say they attend religious services every week, and only nine percent say they go every week. Eleven percent say they attend a religious service about once a month. More than half of Americans — 56 percent — seldom or never attend a religious service.
The data suggest the waning observance correlates with a rise in individuals claiming no religious affiliation, which rose from 9 percent in 2003 to 21 percent in 2023.
As for religious groups with high service attendance, the Mormon Church stands out with a 67 percent attendance rate. Protestant groups, including nondenominational Christians, follow at second with 44 percent, trailed by Muslims at 38 percent and Catholics at 33 percent.
Less observant religious groups include Jewish, Orthodox, Buddhist, and Hindu Americans, many of whom infrequently attend services. Strikingly, the Catholic community displayed one of the most substantial dips in attendance, declining from 45 percent attending services weekly or almost every week between 2000 and 2003 to just 33 percent attending regularly or almost regularly today.
“Church attendance will likely continue to decline in the future, given younger Americans’ weaker attachments to religion,” notes Gallup Senior Editor Jeffrey M. Jones.
Gallup’s data echoes other recent studies that indicate a trend towards lower service attendance and hint at broader changes in societal values and behaviors. Earlier this year, a study from Pew Research found that the single biggest religious group in the U.S. is now ‘none.’
