Fewer Americans attend church than ever before, polls find

(KTVX) - Americans are going to church less and less, with church membership dropping below 50% for the first time in eight decades, according to polls from Gallup. Only 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque in 2020. That number was 70% in 1999.

In fact, church membership in the U.S. hovered around 70% all the way back in the 1930s. Since the turn of the century, that figure is steadily declined. The portion of Americans who say they do not identify with any religion whatsoever has grown from 8% in 1999 to just over 20% in the last three years, Gallup found.

Then there are the people in between those who do identify with a religion but do not attend church.

As you may have guessed, the newer the generation, the less they attend church or identify with a religion at all. Whereas nearly 60% of baby boomers attend church, that figure is only 36% for millennials.

Considering this generational gap, the decline in religious affiliation makes sense, as each year the younger generations make up an increasingly larger part of the U.S. adult population. But the numbers are down, even still, for those in older generations, meaning that the trend is across the board.

However, Gallup found declines in church membership are proportionately smaller among political conservatives, as well as married adults and college graduates. Membership is highest among those groups, people who live in the South and Black adults.