Aaron Earls

When COVID-19 is no longer an active threat to people’s health, 91% plan to attend in-person worship services at least as often as they did before the coronavirus pandemic. That includes almost a quarter (23%) who plan to attend more than they did previously.

Almost 9 in 10 Protestant churchgoers (86%) say they are proud of how their church has responded during the coronavirus pandemic, with 58% strongly agreeing.

For churches that want to retain teenagers into adulthood, these traits matter.

Close to 1 in 6 pastors (16%) admit they have not addressed racial reconciliation from the pulpit in the past two years.

49% of U.S. Protestant pastors say they frequently hear members of their congregation repeating conspiracy theories they have heard about why something is happening in our country.

Almost half of U.S. Protestant pastors (48%) say the current economy is negatively impacting their church, including 5% who say the impact is very negative.

One in 10 churches (9%) say their attendance in September was less than 30% of what it was in February before the pandemic spread to the U.S. Another 20% say attendance was between 30% and less than 50% of what it was.

More than half of Americans say religious beliefs are a matter of personal opinion, not objective facts. And that’s made clear by examining the...