Catholic Church Attendance Lags Behind Mormons, Protestants, Ahead of Orthodox

[Michie]

Three in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly, led by Mormons at 67%​

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low. Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend.

Among major U.S. religious groups, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also widely known as the Mormon Church, are the most observant, with two-thirds attending church weekly or nearly weekly. Protestants (including nondenominational Christians) rank second, with 44% attending services regularly, followed by Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%).

Continued below.

Church Attendance Has Declined in Most U.S. Religious Groups

Three in 10 Americans, but 67% of Mormons, attend church regularly. Most religious groups show declines in attendance over the past two decades.

news.gallup.com

 

[chevyontheriver]

Three in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly, led by Mormons at 67%​

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Americans observe Ramadan and prepare to celebrate Easter and Passover, the percentage of adults who report regularly attending religious services remains low. Three in 10 Americans say they attend religious services every week (21%) or almost every week (9%), while 11% report attending about once a month and 56% seldom (25%) or never (31%) attend.

Among major U.S. religious groups, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also widely known as the Mormon Church, are the most observant, with two-thirds attending church weekly or nearly weekly. Protestants (including nondenominational Christians) rank second, with 44% attending services regularly, followed by Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%).

Continued below.

Church Attendance Has Declined in Most U.S. Religious Groups

Three in 10 Americans, but 67% of Mormons, attend church regularly. Most religious groups show declines in attendance over the past two decades.

news.gallup.com

In polls anyone who says they are Catholic qualifies as Catholic. So the question is why consider yourself Catholic if you don’t practice the faith or believe in the faith. What is it about being a Catholic that you have to hang on to the label long after otherwise quitting? And is there any way that can be a good thing?

 

[Bob Crowley]

The same criteria would apply to "Protestant", "Orthodox", "Moslem" etc. Just because someone has the moniker "Presbyterian" or "Baptist" for example doesn't necessarily mean they believe either.

It does mean the Catholic Church needs to do a bit of soul searching as to why it's attendances are the lowest of the three major Christian groups - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

Quasi-Christian cults like the Mormons, JW's etc go to a lot of trouble to make their members feel like they're a part of their community plus they push a sense of exclusivity ie. "they're special".

In Australia the attendance figures are much lower. These figures are based on the 2016 census, so it's probably a bit worse now.

Changes in church attendance in Australia - NCLS Research

www.ncls.org.au

The proportion of people claiming to identify with a Christian denomination dropped from 71% in the 1996 Census to 52% in the 2016 Census......

......What proportion of these people actually attend church frequently? The answer varies significantly from one denomination to another.

Attendance rates in larger denominations such as Anglican (5%), Uniting (10%) and Catholic (11%) are a small proportion of the overall number of people identifying with them.

By comparison, other Protestant denominations such as the Baptist Church (33%) tend to have much higher proportions attending. Pentecostal attendance estimates actually exceed Pentecostal affiliation figures from the National Census (102%).

 

[chevyontheriver]

The same criteria would apply to "Protestant", "Orthodox", "Moslem" etc. Just because someone has the moniker "Presbyterian" or "Baptist" for example doesn't necessarily mean they believe either.

It does mean the Catholic Church needs to do a bit of soul searching as to why it's attendances are the lowest of the three major Christian groups - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

Quasi-Christian cults like the Mormons, JW's etc go to a lot of trouble to make their members feel like they're a part of their community plus they push a sense of exclusivity ie. "they're special".

In Australia the attendance figures are much lower. These figures are based on the 2016 census, so it's probably a bit worse now.

Reading the article on my phone was impeded by a pop-up but from Michie’s summary the Orthodox situation is even worse, not better. I wonder why?

When I was young the vast majority of Catholics attended mass, and at their geographical parish. The people who didn’t go to church were the Protestants, or at least certain kinds of Protestants. This Catholic collapse is a much newer thing, at least in the USA. We have become that much smaller Church cardinal Ratzinger said we would get. It’s just that so many hang onto the name ‘Catholic’ after essentially giving up on everything but the name.

 

[chevyontheriver]

The same criteria would apply to "Protestant", "Orthodox", "Moslem" etc. Just because someone has the moniker "Presbyterian" or "Baptist" for example doesn't necessarily mean they believe either.

It does mean the Catholic Church needs to do a bit of soul searching as to why it's attendances are the lowest of the three major Christian groups - Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

Quasi-Christian cults like the Mormons, JW's etc go to a lot of trouble to make their members feel like they're a part of their community plus they push a sense of exclusivity ie. "they're special".

In Australia the attendance figures are much lower. These figures are based on the 2016 census, so it's probably a bit worse now.

I got a look at the Gallup site on a desktop just now. Revealing was the change of attendance in 20 years. US population generally is down 12%. Catholic attendance is also down 12% and Orthodox down 9%. Jewish attendance is up 7%.

Still not sure what the data presented by Gallup proves except that many people who still call themselves Catholic don't act Catholic. My hunch is that the label sticks far more than the belief or the practice. In any event, there is a large problem.

 

[Michie]

I got a look at the Gallup site on a desktop just now. Revealing was the change of attendance in 20 years. US population generally is down 12%. Catholic attendance is also down 12% and Orthodox down 9%. Jewish attendance is up 7%.

Still not sure what the data presented by Gallup proves except that many people who still call themselves Catholic don't act Catholic. My hunch is that the label sticks far more than the belief or the practice. In any event, there is a large problem.

People seem to like the label. Not the practice.