As many Americans celebrate Easter and Passover this week, Gallup updates a 2019 analysis that examined the decline in church membership over the past 20 years.
The following analysis of declines in church membership relies on three-year aggregates from 1998-2000 (when church membership averaged 69%), 2008-2010 (62%), and 2018-2020 (49%).
The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference.
Most of the rest of the drop can be attributed to a decline in formal church membership among Americans who do have a religious preference.
In addition to Protestants, declines in church membership are proportionately smaller among political conservatives, Republicans, married adults and college graduates.
These groups tend to have among the highest rates of church membership, along with Southern residents and non-Hispanic Black adults.
A focus on some of these factors may also help local church leaders encourage people who share their faith to join their church. »