Church attendance compared to before the pandemic, as reported by pastors
Percent of pre-pandemic attendance reported by pastors, late 2022 (in percent)
Key finding
- Church attendance compared to before the pandemic, as reported by pastors: 85%. Pastors reported attendance at 85% of what it was prior to the pandemic
Source: Lifeway Research, Reversing the Shrinking Share of Americans Who Regularly Attend Church · Pastors reported attendance as of late 2022, when essentially all churches were open for in-person gatherings. Article published 2023-06-15.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Church attendance compared to before the pandemic, as reported by pastors: 85%. Pastors reported attendance at 85% of what it was prior to the pandemic.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2022. Source: Lifeway Research, Reversing the Shrinking Share of Americans Who Regularly Attend Church (https://research.lifeway.com/2023/06/15/reversing-the-shrinking-share-of-americans-who-regularly-attend-church/).
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More Attendance statistics
- Change in congregations' worship attendance over two years Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers' views on the amount of liturgical style in their church Lifeway Research, 2026
- Regular religious service attendance by age group Lifeway Research, 2026
- Americans who rarely or never attend worship services Lifeway Research, 2023
- Americans who say they belong to a church or house of worship Lifeway Research, 2023
- Churchgoers who say experiencing God in person with others is very important Barna Group, 2023
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. 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. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.