Local church ministers can breathe a sigh of relief as they compose their next sermons.
According to Pew Research Center data published Jan. 28, weekly preaching is satisfying the vast majority of churchgoers in the U.S.
When prompted with the question, “How satisfied are you with the sermons you hear at your congregation or place of worship?” 87% of respondents said they are very or somewhat satisfied.
By comparison, 8% said not too satisfied, 4% said not satisfied at all, and 1% declined to answer.
Protestants were more likely than Catholics to express satisfaction with the preaching they hear each week (92% to 83% satisfaction, respectively), while evangelicals (93% satisfaction) were slightly more likely than mainline or historically black Protestants to do so (91% satisfaction for both).
These findings are part of a larger Pew survey released in mid-December. An EthicsDaily.com news brief highlighted sermon length variations revealed in the data in a Dec. 17 news brief.
The Jan. 28 report did not offer insight regarding the reasons for the high levels of satisfaction but noted “sermons vary in length and content from one religious tradition to another.”
The full report is available here. The topline results are available here.
