Three out of ten Americans identify themselves as ‘non-religious affiliated’ in 2024. Called the ‘Nones’, they don’t attend any church or spiritual function.

In 1999, the Gallop poling group found 56% of Americans identified themselves as ‘religious, spiritual, and attending a church’. Now, in 2024, that number has dropped to 47%. The data has shown a consistent downward trend over the last 25 years.

There are approximately 350,000 religious congregations in the United States. Around 314,000 of these congregations are Protestant and ‘other’ Christian groups (this includes the ‘non-denominational’ or ‘movement’ churches), and around 24,000 Catholic/Orthodox churches [Hartford Institute, 2024].

The average regular attendance of churches in America is +/- 60 people a week. This has dropped from a pre-COVID average in 2018 of 70.

A 2024 study of the mega-church in America… congregations of 2,000 or more… shows there are approximately 2,000 mega-churches in the United States, which attracts over 7 million attendees each week collectively.

Of the mega-churches, over 40% of them are ‘non-denominational’ or ‘movement’ churches, meaning that they are self-governing and self-regulating. The average operating budget of these mega-churches is $5 million dollars annually.

Although the research is thin, the reported demographics of American mega-churches is that they have a younger average age of attendee, have a more ethnically and racially diverse congregation, and have been on a steady increase in attendance since the COVID pandemic.

For more in-depth, current data on American churches, visit the Barna group’s website.

TAKE-AWAY:

… ‘it is what it is’…

written by crisbaj

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References:

Gallop Poling

https://news.gallup.com/poll/511133/identify-religious-spiritual.aspx

Hartford Institute

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html

Barna

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Pew Research Group on American Religion

Religious Landscape Study

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