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Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9, ESV).
Pew Research™ conducts the most extensive surveys of church statistics in America. They have conducted three massive surveys (over 35,000 people interviewed) in the last 17 years.
I’ve always anticipated the surveys as a gauge of the effectiveness of my profession (pastor), and to be honest, the statistics haven’t been friendly.
The latest survey, which was fielded over seven months in 2023-24, found that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christians. That is a decline of 9 percentage points since 2014 and a 16-point drop since 2007 (Pew Research Study).
Ouch, that’s not good for my profession. But the Apostle Paul writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing good.” Now, there’s a small glimmer of hope as the number of professing Christians in America has leveled. The Survey reports. . .
For the last five years, between 2019 and 2024, the Christian share of the adult population has been relatively stable, hovering between 60% and 64%. The 62% figure in the new Religious Landscape Study is smack in the middle of that recent range.
Despite the “Covid Effect” on church attendance, belief in God has stabilized. There have been thousands of Christians praying — let’s remember not to “grow weary” in our prayers for our country.
The Survey also noted:
- The number of people who say they pray daily has consistently held between 44% and 46%
- Since 2020, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they attend religious services monthly has hovered in the low 30%. In the new survey, 33% indicated they go to services at least once a month
Other indicators suggest we may see further declines in the American religious landscape, as these statistics with younger people (between the ages of 18 and 25) indicate. . .
- Only 46% identify as Christian, whereas the older population hovers at 80%
- Only 27% pray daily vs. 58%
- They attend religious services at least monthly — 25% vs. 49%
The Pew Survey also reveals that younger adults are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated, are less likely than older adults to say they were raised in religious households, and that fewer young people raised in religious households have remained religious after reaching adulthood.
Again, Paul says, “Let us not grow weary.”
There are specific indicators that God isn’t finished with young people in America. Many have heard of The Ohio State University winning the Football National Championship but haven’t heard that a revival involving the football players has been sweeping the university campus.
Watch this video of a recent preaching and worship event at Ohio State and how the revival got started with the football team and at the university through an Uber™ driver.
Yes, an Uber driver started a revival at The Ohio State University! We never know the result of our prayers, so let’s not grow weary!
Go Bucks!