American churchgoers appreciate a sense of community and belonging by attending a local fellowship, according to results from a new survey published by the American Bible Society (ABS) yesterday (Aug. 8).
The fifth chapter of the ABS 14th annual ‘State of the Bible’ 2024 report focused on data determining positive or negative factors that either increase or decrease participating in a local church.
The report involved the views of 2,506 online interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted for ABS by academics at the University of Chicago.
Key findings showed clear results regarding how believers felt about attending a fellowship.
More than half of respondents agreed with three positive tenets persuading them to increase participation: a feeling of community and belonging (55%), shared spiritual beliefs and faith (53%) and meaning and purpose (51%).
“Any company with a product or service to sell does customer research — asking buyers what they like or don’t like, or how many stars they would award for an experience,” said John Farquhar Plake, American Bible Society’s chief innovation officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series.
“The church is driven by far more than commerce, but congregations will still benefit from our nationwide research about what people like and dislike about their churches.”
Farquhar Plake summarized the optimum top answers for both positive and negative responses, as being about the importance of belonging.
“When churchgoers feel that they belong, they participate more. And when they feel excluded by cliques, they drift away. So, what can your church do about that? This new chapter offers a few ideas.”
Worship and ceremonies were also positive experiences for a considerable proportion with 48 percent of respondents.
Other key results showed that 20 percent of respondents were reluctant to engage in churches where they felt there were social cliques or forms of exclusion. ABS pointed out that the figure may seem low but it is very significant – potentially representing the views of 50 million Americans dissuaded from participating in a church.
A sixth of “scripture engaged individuals” reported less involvement in churches because of unresolved conflicts. Meanwhile “those in the Movable Middle” were more prone to saying they had not received adequate spiritual care. This deficit in care had affected these respondents’ relationship with the faith community.
Lastly, a high number of volunteers at churches were involved, compared to other churchgoers, because of feelings of belonging (55%) and community (68%). This indicated a “sense of deep care for the community they both maintain and participate in”, stated a press release by ABS.
The survey is not finished yet - another four new chapters in the State of the Bible series are planned between Sept. and Dec. 2024. These chapters will address research on societal and cultural influences, loneliness and philanthropy.
