American churches are receiving high marks from those who regularly enter their pews, despite new research showing that more than half of self-identifying Christians attend services less than once a month.
The latest findings from the American Bible Society’s ‘State of the Bible USA 2026,’ which focuses on church health, suggest a mixed picture of the Church in the United States, with relatively strong levels of satisfaction among churchgoers contrasting with continued disengagement among large numbers of Christians.
The research was carried out over a three-week period in January, in partnership with National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, and based on responses from 2,649 adults.
It found that just a quarter of Americans attend a Christian church service each week, while 37% say they do not take part in church services at all, whether physically or virtually.
Among those who identify as Christian, 49% attend at least monthly. However, there are some indications that occasional churchgoing is increasing.
The proportion of Americans attending “about every six months” has risen from 5% in 2024 to 8% this year, while the proportion who never attend has fallen slightly from 39% to 37%, amounting to around eight million more Americans attending church at least occasionally.
Attendance also varies considerably between Christian traditions, with Evangelical Protestants showing the strongest levels of participation.
Two thirds of Evangelical Protestants attend church at least once a month, while half are classified by researchers as “practising Christians” - those who go to church at least once a month and regard their faith as a central part of their lives.
Black Protestants had the next highest proportion of practising Christians, at a third, compared with just 14% of Mainline Protestants.
By contrast, 65% of Mainline Protestants and 60% of Roman Catholics were classified as “nominal” Christians, indicating a sizable gap between identifying with a Christian tradition and regularly participating in church life.
The research also found differences according to age and gender. Christian women were more likely than Christian men to attend at least monthly (51% vs 46%). More than half of Christian men (54%) attend less than monthly and one in 10 do not attend church at all.
A fifth of male churchgoers participate in services online for at least half of their attendance, rising to 30% among female churchgoers.
There were also signs of changing attendance patterns between generations.
Gen X recorded an increase in monthly churchgoing, from 49% in 2024 to 54% this year, while attendance among younger Christians remains a particular challenge.
Gen Z was the only generation to see a decline, with the proportion attending church at least monthly falling from 46% in 2024 to 42% today.
Despite the wider attendance gap, the findings were considerably more positive when researchers examined the experiences of people who do participate in church.
Churchgoers were asked to rate their congregations on five areas of church health - whether their church challenges them to grow spiritually; helps them understand the Bible more deeply; provides opportunities for growth through relationships; fosters a culture of serving the community; and their pastor models spiritual growth.
Across the five measures, churchgoers gave their churches an average score of 8 out of 10, with 10 being the most common individual response.
A strong relationship between active participation in Christianity, engagement with Scripture and satisfaction with church life was identified in the study.
Across the five measures of church health, 56% of practising Christians were “very satisfied”, compared with 15% of casual Christians and 16% of nominal Christians.
The difference was particularly pronounced when respondents were asked whether their church helped them understand the Bible more deeply, with 65% of practising Christians reporting that they were very satisfied, compared with 18% among the other groups.
Those classified as “Scripture Engaged” also reported some of the highest levels of satisfaction.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they were “very satisfied” with how effectively their pastor demonstrates and encourages spiritual growth.
Church leadership appeared to play an important role in encouraging this engagement.
Around two-thirds of churchgoers agreed that their leaders encourage them to read the Bible and help make Scripture relevant to their lives.
A majority (89%) of those reporting the highest levels of satisfaction with their church “agree or strongly agree” that they received encouragement from church leaders to engage with the Bible.
The findings were less positive among Gen Z men, who consistently reported lower levels of satisfaction with their churches than other demographic groups, suggesting that “something churches are doing across America isn’t connecting with the young men sitting in the pews - and their spiritual growth is suffering because of it”.
When asked whether their church gave them a deeper understanding of Scripture, Gen Z women gave an average rating of 7.9 out of 10, compared with 6.9 among Gen Z men.
“Church leaders need to think about how to approach and engage these young men,” Bible Society said.
“As we have seen time and again in our research, Bible engagement is one of the most effective catalysts for spiritual growth. How can churches and ministries invest in young men’s spiritual formation and activate them in the local church body?”
The American Bible Society said the findings suggest that while the US continues to face a significant gap between Christian identification and active participation in church, congregations are having a positive spiritual impact on many of those who regularly take part.
It stated: “Though there’s a massive discipleship gap in America, individual churches are healthier than we might expect.”
