US Church Attendance 10-2-24

On a typical Sunday morning in the period from 1955-58, almost half of all Americans were attending church – the highest percentage in U.S. history. During the 1950s, nationwide church membership grew at a faster rate than the population, from 57 percent of the U.S. population in 1950 to 63.3 percent in 1960.

Here are some statistics on church attendance in the United States from the 1960s to the present: 

1960s: In the late 1960s, religious service attendance in the United States was around 73%, which had been steady for over 50 years. 

1970s: Attendance began to decline in the 1970s. 

1999: In 1999, 70% of Americans attended religious services. 

2020: In 2020, 47% of Americans attended religious services, a 20% drop from 1999. 

2021-2023: The percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation increased from 9% in 2000-2003 to 21% in 2021-2023. 

2023: In May 2023, 26% of Americans reported attending religious services in person, and 5% reported attending virtually. 

Boomers: 22% of Boomers have stopped attending church altogether, compared to 13% of Millennials.  

I was raised Catholic. At age 8, I became an Alter Boy and served the 6AM Mass from 1951 to 1957. The Mass was in Latin. I sang Gregorian Chant in the Childrens’ choir at all Parish funerals. In 1961 I joined a 40 men-40-boy Choir and sang 6-part Gregorian Chant. In College I attended daily Mass at noon. In 1962, Vatican II changed the Mass to English. By 1965, Guitar Masses were introduced and “folk music” replaced church music.  I called it the Peter Paul and Mary Mass. Homilies became unhelpful and I became a Lector and added the background ahead of the Epistle. We moved to Kansas in 1975, I joined a traditional choir and became Choir Director. My wife Marlene and I became Marriage Encounter Leaders in 1976. We became Engaged Encounter Leaders for the Western Kansas Diocese in 1979. We moved to Georgia in 1983 and joined the Engaged Encounter Team Community. We became Parish Marriage Ministry Leaders in 1993 and continued until 2003. I joined the Parish Choir in 2003 and retired in 2015. I spent 64 years as an active Catholic and am grateful for my Catholic upbringing and involvement. Now I concentrate on my personal relationship with Jesus and attribute my success to following “God’s Plan”. 

We enjoyed the reigns of Pope John Paul II 1978-2005 and Pope Benedict XV 2005-2013. When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, I was skeptical. In 2015, I stopped going to church and stopped contributing to the Parish. Catholic Charities contracted with the US Federal Government to place Refugees in US jobs.  Pope Francis was a Communist from Argentina who supported the Climate Change Hoax. Going to church was a “social” exercise and there were too many Democrats in my Parish. I quit the church on political grounds. I now go to church via TV and watch Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).  

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader