June 2021 –While 7 in 10 Americans claim affiliation with some form of organized religion, according to a new Gallup analysis, fewer than half have formal membership in a house of worship. Gallup first began measuring church membership in 1937. It remained steady at about 70% until 1998 when it began decreasing. In 2020, it dropped to 47%.
Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones stated, “[I]t is possible that part of the decline seen in 2020 was temporary and related to the coronavirus pandemic.” But he also expressed concern over “the much lower levels of religiosity and church membership among younger versus older generations of adults.”
