An increasing percentage of Americans say they never attend church, indicating a shift among those who previously attended services regularly.
According to a 2022 Lifeway Research study, 3 in 5 U.S. Protestant pastors say they consider someone who attends church more than once a month to be a regular churchgoer. Using this standard, 27% of Americans qualify as regular churchgoers, according to the 2022 General Social Survey (GSS).
An increasing percentage of Americans say they never attend church, and most of that growth comes from those who previously attended religious services regularly.
Previous GSS data indicate in 2018, 58% of Americans said they seldom or never attended religious services, while 42% said they attended at least monthly, including 23% who attended at least weekly. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 9-point swing away from regular attendance. In particular, the number of those who attend weekly or more dropped by half.
Keep reading this article on Lifeway Research.