Religious life in the U.S. is “showing signs of slowly returning to normal,” according to an AP-NORC report published Dec. 19 and based on a survey conducted in October.
Nearly one quarter (21%) of all U.S. adults are currently attending in-person religious services at least once a week, up from only 5% who were doing so in May 2020.
Those attending a few times a month rose two points to 7% during that time period and those attending less than once a month rose from 5% to 16%, while those who said they have not attended a service in the past few months dropped from 84% in May 2020 to 56% in Oct. 2021.
Tuning in to religious services streamed online has declined slightly since May, with more people attending in person.
Those watching a livestream every week dropped from 16% to 8%, those doing so a few times a month remained unchanged at 11%, those viewing less than once a month rose five points to 14% and those who never do so rose six point to 60%.
“Overall, the pandemic has not changed the attitudes of believers about God. About 8 in 10 say they believe in God today and did so before the pandemic in the current survey,” the report said. “Those who believe in God have not changed their views about God in relation to the pandemic. Among them, few think God has abandoned humanity or have doubt that God exists.”
The full report is available here. The topline results are available here. The methodology, noting a plus-or-minus 4% overall margin of error, is available here.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
