Reasons the dechurched stopped attending regularly
Percent of Americans who formerly attended regularly, Pew Research, 2016 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Practical reason (50%). Lowest: Relational reason (17%).
- Practical reason: 50%
- Change in personal beliefs or with their church: 26%
- Relational reason: 17%
Source: Lifeway Research, Time, Not Theology, Drives Most Away From Church · Article published 2016-09-09.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Practical reason (50%). Lowest: Relational reason (17%). Practical reason: 50%. Change in personal beliefs or with their church: 26%. Relational reason: 17%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2016. Source: Lifeway Research, Time, Not Theology, Drives Most Away From Church (https://research.lifeway.com/2016/09/09/time-not-theology-drives-most-away-from-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 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.