Holiday services planned by churches
Percent of U.S. Protestant churches, per senior pastors, 2016 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Sunday worship on New Year's Day (85%). Lowest: Services on both Christmas and Christmas Eve (63%).
- Sunday worship on New Year's Day: 85%
- Christmas Eve service: 71%
- Services on both Christmas and Christmas Eve: 63%
Source: Lifeway Research, Most Churches Open for Business on Christmas, New Year’s Day, Say Pastors · Lifeway Research phone survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors; 95 percent confidence, sampling error no more than plus or minus 3.2 percent. Article published 2016-12-13.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Sunday worship on New Year's Day (85%). Lowest: Services on both Christmas and Christmas Eve (63%). Sunday worship on New Year's Day: 85%. Christmas Eve service: 71%. Services on both Christmas and Christmas Eve: 63%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2016. Source: Lifeway Research, Most Churches Open for Business on Christmas, New Year’s Day, Say Pastors (https://research.lifeway.com/2016/12/12/most-churches-open-for-business-on-christmas-new-years-day-say-pastors/).
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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 attended worship growing up and no longer go Lifeway Research, 2017
- Americans who never attend church, by education Lifeway Research, 2017
- Americans who never attend church, by political identity Lifeway Research, 2017
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.