Primary obstacles to people's spiritual engagement, per church leaders
Percent of U.S. pastors naming each obstacle, 2023 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Lack of personal motivation (32%). Lowest: Lack of involvement in activities that nurture growth (19%).
- Lack of personal motivation: 32%
- Other competing obligations and distractions: 26%
- Lack of involvement in activities that nurture growth: 19%
Source: Barna Group, Many Churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity · Pastor survey included 611 clergy, maximum margin of sampling error ±4.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Article published 2023-12-07.
Get the chart, CSV, PNG and citation
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: Lack of personal motivation (32%). Lowest: Lack of involvement in activities that nurture growth (19%). Lack of personal motivation: 32%. Other competing obligations and distractions: 26%. Lack of involvement in activities that nurture growth: 19%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2023. Source: Barna Group, Many Churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity (https://www.barna.com/research/many-churchgoers-and-faith-leaders-struggle-to-define-spiritual-maturity/).
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 Bible & Discipleship statistics
- Americans in the Movable Middle, curious about the Bible American Bible Society, 2026
- Americans who have not read any of the Bible American Bible Society, 2026
- Churches with an intentional plan for discipling individuals Lifeway Research, 2026
- Activity adults say brings the greatest spiritual satisfaction Barna Group, 2024
- Adults with a biblical worldview Barna Group, 2024
- Areas where new believers are adequately discipled, according to leaders Lifeway Research, 2024
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.