Gallup Reports Less Than 50% of Americans Belong to a Church
TUPELO, Miss. — For the first time in nearly 80 years, only 49% of Americans are formal members at a specific house of worship in 2020. These numbers, according to recent Gallup analysis, are down nearly 20% from when the poll was first taken back in 1937. The numbers, which began declining in 1998, strongly correlate with “membership age,” reported Gallup.
The poll results indicated that “some 66% of traditionalists — U.S. adults born before 1946 — have formal membership in a church, compared with 58% of Baby Boomers, 50% of those in Generation X and 36% of Millennials.”
“This new Gallup poll is troubling because the results can be added to the disturbing trends that are elsewhere evident,” stated Ed Vitagliano, executive vice president of the American Family Association (AFA, www.AFA.net).
“Of course, a formal church membership roll, where people have their names added and subtracted at will, is not in the Bible. But commitment to a local church is biblical, and I’m afraid that Americans are becoming more and more self-absorbed. Even when they do consider spiritual things, the purpose is, more often than not, for personal gain and happiness.
“America is in desperate need of a move of God, and it is incumbent upon true Christians to stand in the gap against national judgment and cry out to God for His mercy. The foundations of this country are being eroded right out from under us, and it has become crystal clear: Only Jesus Christ can save America now.”
For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission. Find AFA Action Alerts here.
AFA—founded in 1977—has long been on the front lines of America’s culture war. Today, AFA is one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with nearly a million online supporters and approximately 160,000 subscribers to the AFA Journal, the ministry’s monthly magazine. In addition, AFA owns and operates nearly 180 radio stations across the country under the American Family Radio banner.
View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.
###
To interview a representative of the American Family Association, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
