How unchurched Americans would respond to a conversation about their religious beliefs
Percent of unchurched Americans, 2016 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Would discuss freely (47%). Lowest: Would change the subject as soon as possible (11%).
- Would discuss freely: 47%
- Would listen without actively participating: 31%
- Would discuss with some discomfort: 12%
Source: Lifeway Research, Christians Don’t Share Faith With Unchurched Friends · Lifeway Research 2016 study of 2,000 unchurched Americans. Article published 2021-09-09.
See all 4 categories, the full chart and more
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Would discuss freely (47%). Lowest: Would change the subject as soon as possible (11%). Would discuss freely: 47%. Would listen without actively participating: 31%. Would discuss with some discomfort: 12%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2016. Source: Lifeway Research, Christians Don’t Share Faith With Unchurched Friends (https://research.lifeway.com/2021/09/09/christians-dont-share-faith-with-unchurched-friends/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Outreach & Evangelism statistics
- Nones more willing to hear a Christian's faith if they don't claim all the answers Lifeway Research, 2026
- Nones who say they don't understand the language of most churches Lifeway Research, 2026
- Unaffiliated Americans on whether Christian language relates to what they care about Lifeway Research, 2026
- Christians who had 10 or more spiritual conversations in a year Barna Group, 2017
- Church service programs Americans know churches provide Lifeway Research, 2017
- How unchurched nones feel about their Christian friends' faith 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.