MEMBERSHIP IN RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN US FALLS TO RECORD LOW IN 80 YEARS

Tue 30 March 2021:

The United States remains a religious nation but it is experiencing the lowest level of religious membership in eight decades as fewer than 47 percent of its residents regularly attend an institution of worship, a new Gallup poll revealed on Monday.

The survey showed 47 percent Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque in 2020 – a record decline from 50 percent in 2018 and 70 percent in 1999.

The highest level of US church membership, 73 percent, was noted by Gallup in 1937. Membership remained near 70 percent for the next 60 years before it started to fall at the turn of the 21st century, a release explaining the poll said.

The decline in church membership is consistent with larger societal trends in declining church attendance and an increasing proportion of Americans with no religious preference, the release said. The latter has increased from 8 percent in 1998-2000 to 21 percent in the past three years.

The poll results show the decline is bigger among Catholics, from 76 to 58 percent, than among Protestants, from 73 to 64 percent. The decline among Conservatives, Republicans, married adults and college graduates is also lower than among Democrats.

The survey results are based on a three-year aggregate from 2018-2020 consisting of data from over 6,000 adults.