The vast majority of people who regularly go to church do so to feel closer to God, but lack of faith is not necessarily why others stay away.
Among U.S. adults who attend religious services at least once or twice a month, 81 percent say it’s to become closer to God. Two-thirds or more of some 4,700 adults surveyed by Pew Research Center in December 2017 also said religious services provide their children with a moral foundation, provide comfort in times of trouble or sorrow, and make them better people.
Other ways
Among non-attenders, 37 percent said they practice their faith in other ways. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) said they haven’t found a church or house of worship they like. A few said they cannot attend because of poor health or time restraints. Less than a third (28 percent) said they do not attend religious services because they do not believe.
Nearly three-quarters of those who attend worship regularly said they “always” or “often” feel a sense of community with people who share their religion when they attend services. A small percentage (15 percent) of Christian respondents said they don’t attend regularly because they don’t feel welcome.
More than half (60 percent) of all regular attenders said they feel a sense of connection to a longstanding tradition when they attend worship, though very few said they go to church primarily out of religious obligation or family tradition.
Among Protestants, 71 percent said valuable sermons keep them coming back to church. That finding correlates with a March 2017 Gallup survey in which three in four worshippers said sermons or talks that either teach about Scripture or help people connect religion to their own lives were the major reasons they attend services regularly. Gallup also reported that almost half (44 percent) of non-churchgoers said they didn’t attend services because they preferred to worship on their own.
Gallup senior editor Lydia Saad noted past research that shows improved personal well-being as a result of belonging to a house of worship. But the personal benefits are outweighed by the spiritual benefits for most regular attenders.
Motivators
“What most motivates them to attend is learning more about the tenets of their faith, as well as connecting that faith to their lives,” she wrote. “Churches and others may find some success with the message that worshipping in communion with others has benefits that can’t be achieved worshipping alone — addressing the No. 1 reason non-attendees give for not attending.”
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