Why Americans attend church at Christmastime
Percent of U.S. adults who typically attend church at Christmastime, 2024 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: To honor Jesus (60%). Lowest: To get in the Christmas spirit (8%).
- To honor Jesus: 60%
- To observe tradition: 16%
- To be with family and friends: 15%
Source: Lifeway Research, Less Than Half of Americans Attend Church at Christmas · Online survey of 1,200 Americans; 95% confidence, sampling error not above plus or minus 3.3%. Article published 2024-12-03.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: To honor Jesus (60%). Lowest: To get in the Christmas spirit (8%). To honor Jesus: 60%. To observe tradition: 16%. To be with family and friends: 15%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2024. Source: Lifeway Research, Less Than Half of Americans Attend Church at Christmas (https://research.lifeway.com/2024/12/03/less-than-half-of-americans-attend-church-at-christmas/).
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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 attend church weekly Public Religion Research Institute, 2025
- Americans who belong to a church, synagogue or mosque Gallup, 2025
- Americans who say worshiping alone or with family can replace church attendance Lifeway Research, 2025
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.