What has been the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on religious service attendance among U.S. houses of faith? That question is explored in a Pew Research Center report published March 28, which analyzes data collected from 2019 to 2022.
Pew found a small but measurable change in service attendance when comparing pre- to post-pandemic levels. In 2019, 33% of U.S. adults said they frequented religious services at least once a month. Currently, 30% of respondents attend monthly (either in-person or online).
The religiously unaffiliated saw a one-point increase to 4% in reported monthly attendance from 2019 to 2022, while all the other faith groups experienced a decline:
- White evangelical Protestants: down five points to 58%
- Black Protestants: down 15 points to 46%
- Catholics: down three points to 34%
- White non-evangelical Protestants: down three points to 28%
- Jews: down three points to 23%
In addition, 20% of all U.S. adults say they attend less often now than prior to the pandemic, while 15% say they attend virtually more often and 7% that they attend in-person more frequently.
Analyzing various surveys conducted since the start of the pandemic, Pew found that around 40% of adults said they attended a religious service either in-person or virtually. Most (87%) of respondents said their service attendance didn’t change from 2019 to 2022.
“The share of U.S. adults who take part in religious services in some way (in-person, virtually or both) in a given month has remained remarkably steady since the early days of the pandemic – even though how they participate has shifted dramatically,” the report noted.
White evangelical Protestants have been the most likely religious group to report in-person service attendance, ranging from a low of 30% in-person during July 2020 to a high of 53% in March 2022.
They have had the second highest percentage of respondents – behind Black Protestants – who report attending virtually in all but March 2022 survey when they were slightly more likely than Black Protestants to report attending virtually (56% to 52%, respectively).
Black Protestants have been the most likely religious group to report attending services virtually throughout the pandemic (except for March 2022), with virtual attendance ranging from 66% (July 2020) to 52% (March 22).
As of November 2022, white evangelical Protestants are the only religious group reporting at least 50% in-person attendance, while Black Protestants are the only religious group reporting at least 50% virtual attendance.
By comparison, 44% of Jews, 43% of both white and Hispanic Catholics, and 9% of the religiously unaffiliated said they attended a religious service in the past month either in-person or online.
White evangelical Protestants (72%) and Black Protestants (69%) are the only two faith groups with a majority of respondents who attended a religious service either in-person or online in the past month.
Black Protestants had the highest percentage of respondents say they currently attend in-person service more often than before the pandemic (15%), with 35% attending less often, and 32% about the same. For virtual attendance, 35% of Black Protestants report attending more often, 10% less often, and 29% about the same compared to before the pandemic.
Among white evangelical Protestants, 8% attend in-person more often and 23% less often than prior to the pandemic, with a majority (52%) saying their attendance hasn’t changed. Regarding virtual attendance, 28% of white evangelical Protestants do so more often, 5% less often, and 36% about the same.
Overall, 7% of all U.S. adults attend in-person services more often, 20% less often, and 31% about the same as before the pandemic, while 15% attend virtually more often, 5% less often, and 20% about the same as before the pandemic.
The full report is available here. The topline results are available here. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
