“The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference,” reported Gallup.
By Josh Plank, World Israel News
Americans’ membership in houses of worship fell below 50% last year for the first time in the over 80-year history of the Gallup poll, according to a new survey published Monday.
Only 47% of Americans in 2020 said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.
While Gallup reports that it’s possible that part of the decline in 2020 was temporary and related to coronavirus closures, the numbers are part of an overall trend and appear to be tied to a decrease in religiosity, particularly among the young.
Gallup first measured church membership at 73% in 1937, and the number hovered steadily around the 70% mark for more than 60 years before beginning to fall off after the turn of the century.
“The decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference,” reported Gallup.
“The percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years,” the report said.
The increase in lack of religious affiliation is largely due to “population change,” with those in older generations who tend to be more religious being replaced in the adult population with people in younger generations who tend to be less religious.
Only 7% of traditionalists (born before 1946) say they have no religious preference, while baby boomers (born 1946-1964) stand at 13%, Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) at 20%, and millennials (born 1981-1996) at 31%.
The percentage is even higher among the portion of Generation Z (born after 1996) that has reached adulthood, with 33% having no religious preference.
Only 36% of millennials are members of a house of worship, compared to 66% of traditionalists.
Gallup reported that declines in church membership are proportionately smaller among political conservatives, Republicans, married adults, and college graduates.
Earlier this month, a separate Gallup poll revealed that Americans’ favorable views of the Palestinian Authority have reached a new high of 30%.