Church Denomination Statistics 2027: Latest 2026 Data and Trends
How big are America's church traditions, and how do they differ in attendance, congregation size and pastor profile? The latest sourced figures from Lifeway Research, Gallup, Pew Research Center, Barna Group and Springtide Research Institute. Each survey defines groups differently, so every figure names its publisher and year. Every figure links to its original study. Updated October 2026.
Denominations statistics at a glance
How big is each tradition, and who stays?
- Religious identity of Americans, 2007 vs 2021 2021: 40% Protestant, 24% evangelical, 21% Catholic, 16% non-evangelical, 20% nothing in particular (2007: 52%, 30%, 24%, 22%, 12%) · Lifeway Research, 2021
- Religious identity of U.S. adults 33% Protestant, 22% Catholic, 22% unaffiliated, 13% other Christian (2023) · Lifeway Research, 2023
- Share of adults in each faith-based segment 44% notional, 33% non-evangelical born again, 8% evangelical, 8% atheist or agnostic, 7% other faiths (2024) · Barna Group, 2024
- Retention rate of those raised in each religious tradition Evangelical 73%, Black Protestant 71%, Catholic 67%, mainline 58% (2024) · Lifeway Research, 2024
- Share still in their childhood faith, by religion raised in Protestant 70%, Catholic 57%, Latter-day Saints 54% (2026) · Lifeway Research, 2026
- Denominational identity of 13-year-olds who identify as Christian Catholic 28%, Protestant 20%, Latter-day Saints 2%, Orthodox 0.4% (2025) · Springtide Research Institute, 2025
Southern Baptist membership, attendance and baptisms
- Total Southern Baptist Convention membership 12.33 million · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Members of Southern Baptist congregations 12.72 million · Lifeway Research, 2024
- Average weekly attendance at Southern Baptist churches 4.46 million · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Weekly worship attendance in Southern Baptist congregations 4.3 million · Lifeway Research, 2024
- Southern Baptist affiliated congregations 46,608 · Lifeway Research, 2025
- People baptized in Southern Baptist churches 263,075 · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Baptisms in Southern Baptist congregations 250,643 · Lifeway Research, 2024
- Share of Southern Baptist baptisms by age group Adults 33%, youth 25%, children 22%, young adults 20% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
What Southern Baptist congregations look like
- Southern Baptist churches by average worship attendance Under 50 41%, 50 to 99 27%, 100 to 249 21%, 250 to 499 7%, 500 or more 4% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Southern Baptist churches by region of the country South 79%, Midwest 10%, West 9%, Northeast 3% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Southern Baptist churches by membership trend Plateaued 42.5%, declining 39%, growing 18.5% (2017 to 2022) · Lifeway Research, 2022
- Southern Baptist churches providing medical insurance for at least the pastor 26% under 50 attendees, 36% 50 to 99, 46% 100 to 249, 67% 250 or more (2026) · Lifeway Research, 2026
- Share of church budget spent on personnel in Southern Baptist congregations 42% under 50 attendees, 46% 50 to 99, 47% 100 to 249, 50% 250 or more (2026) · Lifeway Research, 2026
Attendance and congregation size by tradition
- Weekly or nearly weekly attendance by religious group Mormon 67%, Protestant 44%, Muslim 38%, Catholic 33%, Orthodox 26%, Jewish 22%, Hindu 13% (2021 to 2023) · Gallup, 2025
- Attending religious services every week, by religious group Latter-day Saints 54%, Protestant 30%, Catholic 23%, Orthodox 15% (2024) · Lifeway Research, 2024
- Median attendance by tradition Catholic or Orthodox 400, evangelical 65, mainline 50 (2020) · Faith Communities Today, 2025
- Churchgoers who attended in person in the past month, by tradition Evangelical 75%, mainline 68%, historically Black Protestant 48% (March 2022) · Lifeway Research, 2022
- How often young Catholics and former Catholics attend Mass 48% never or rarely, 22% weekly or more, 17% a few times a year, 14% once or twice a month (2025) · Springtide Research Institute, 2025
- Share of young people who are former Catholics, by race and ethnicity Black respondents 73%, White 53%, Hispanic and Latina/o 31% (2025) · Springtide Research Institute, 2025
How pastors differ by tradition
- Pastors who work a second job Evangelical 47%, Black Protestant 35%, Catholic 14%, mainline 11% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- U.S. clergy who serve bivocationally 35% · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Evangelical pastors with some income outside of church work 47% · Lifeway Research, 2026
- Clergy serving more than one congregation Mainline 24%, Catholic 22%, Black Protestant 21%, evangelical 9% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Pastors who worked outside the church before ministry Black Protestant 89%, evangelical 64%, mainline 62%, Catholic 33% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Pastors serving their first church as senior pastor Black Protestant 61%, evangelical 50%, mainline 41% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Mainline pastors who began at their church within the past 10 years 81% · Lifeway Research, 2025
- Pastors who say they deserve the respect of their church members Black Protestant 84%, mainline 79%, evangelical 71% (2025) · Lifeway Research, 2025
Looking ahead to 2027: what the latest data points to
No 2027 statistics have been published yet. Here is what the newest readings suggest. We update this page as new research arrives.
- Southern Baptist membership is falling while attendance and baptisms rise. Lifeway Research counted 12.33 million members in 2025, while average weekly attendance was 4.46 million and baptisms reached 263,075, the highest total since 2016. See the data.
- Congregation size differs sharply by tradition. The median Catholic or Orthodox congregation had 400 people in 2020, against 65 for evangelical and 50 for mainline congregations (Faith Communities Today, reported by Lifeway Research). These are medians from a 2020 study, so they show typical size rather than recent change. See the data.
- Bivocational ministry varies by tradition. In Lifeway Research's 2025 National Survey of Religious Leaders, 47% of evangelical pastors had a second job, against 35% of Black Protestant, 14% of Catholic and 11% of mainline pastors. See the data.
- Attendance numbers depend on who is measured. Gallup found 44% of Protestants or non-denominational Christians and 33% of Catholics attend weekly or nearly weekly (2021 to 2023), while Lifeway Research's 2024 figures were 30% and 23%, so compare traditions within one survey rather than across surveys. See the data.
Denominations statistics: common questions
How many members does the Southern Baptist Convention have?
Lifeway Research reports 12.33 million members across 46,608 affiliated congregations in 2025, after the SBC lost 268 churches that year. In 2024 the figure was 12.72 million members. Average weekly attendance was 4.46 million in 2025.
How large is the typical congregation in each tradition?
In the 2020 Faith Communities Today study, reported by Lifeway Research, the median congregation had 400 people in Catholic or Orthodox churches, 65 in evangelical churches and 50 in mainline churches. Among Southern Baptist churches in 2025, 41% averaged fewer than 50 in worship and 4% averaged 500 or more (Lifeway Research).
Which traditions have the most bivocational pastors?
Lifeway Research's 2025 National Survey of Religious Leaders found 47% of evangelical pastors have a second job, compared with 35% of Black Protestant, 14% of Catholic and 11% of mainline pastors. Across all U.S. clergy the share is 35%.
Do different traditions attend church at different rates?
Yes, though the numbers depend on the survey. Gallup (2021 to 2023) found 44% of Protestants or non-denominational Christians, 33% of Catholics and 26% of Orthodox Christians attend weekly or nearly weekly. Lifeway Research's 2024 data found 30% of Protestants, 23% of Catholics and 15% of Orthodox Christians attend every week.
How many Americans belong to each tradition?
It depends on the study. Pew data reported by Lifeway Research found 24% of U.S. adults were evangelical Protestant, 21% Catholic and 16% non-evangelical Protestant in 2021. Gallup data reported by Lifeway Research in 2023 found 33% Protestant and 22% Catholic. Barna Group's 2024 segmentation, which uses beliefs rather than affiliation, counted 8% of adults as evangelicals.
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Different studies define the same topic differently, so figures from different sources are not directly comparable; each is labeled with its publisher and year.