Frequency of prayer - Belief Statistics Topic
About how often do you pray? (USE CATEGORIES AS PROBES.) (PRAY)(General Social Survey, 2021)
Frequency of prayer by Age
| 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-59 | 60-74 | 75 or older | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 16.5%67 | 23.9%233 | 31.5%284 | 31.9%323 | 37.7%144 | 28.6%1051 | 88 |
| Once a day | 9.9%40 | 14.2%138 | 15.2%137 | 19.8%201 | 21.2%81 | 16.2%597 | 59 |
| Several times a week | 14.8%60 | 12.6%123 | 15.5%140 | 14.1%143 | 11.5%44 | 13.9%510 | 32 |
| Once a week | 5.4%22 | 4.7%46 | 5.0%45 | 3.8%39 | 2.9%11 | 4.4%163 | 12 |
| Less than once a week | 16.0%65 | 15.2%148 | 13.7%123 | 14.4%146 | 12.0%46 | 14.4%528 | 32 |
| Never | 37.3%151 | 29.4%287 | 19.1%172 | 16.0%162 | 14.7%56 | 22.5%828 | 55 |
| Missing | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 355 | 55 |
| Total | 100%405 | 100%975 | 100%901 | 100%1014 | 100%382 | 3677 |
Frequency of prayer by Worship attendance
| Never | About once a year or less | Several times a year | One to three times a month | Nearly every week | Every week or several times a week | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 10.5%122 | 16.2%164 | 27.6%110 | 37.4%120 | 47.3%156 | 65.3%463 | 28.8%1135 | 4 |
| Once a day | 8.2%96 | 17.0%172 | 20.6%82 | 23.4%75 | 23.6%78 | 20.6%146 | 16.5%649 | 7 |
| Several times a week | 8.7%102 | 17.2%174 | 22.1%88 | 18.7%60 | 17.9%59 | 8.3%59 | 13.8%542 | 0 |
| Once a week | 4.0%47 | 5.7%58 | 5.5%22 | 7.5%24 | 2.1%7 | 2.1%15 | 4.4%173 | 2 |
| Less than once a week | 13.6%159 | 26.0%264 | 20.1%80 | 7.5%24 | 4.8%16 | 2.1%15 | 14.2%558 | 2 |
| Never | 54.9%641 | 17.9%182 | 4.0%16 | 5.6%18 | 4.2%14 | 1.6%11 | 22.4%882 | 1 |
| Missing | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 93 | 54 |
| Total | 100%1167 | 100%1014 | 100%398 | 100%321 | 100%330 | 100%709 | 3939 |
Frequency of prayer by Household income
| Under $5,000 | $5,000 to $9,999 | $10,000 to $14,999 | $15,000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $24,999 | $25,000 or more | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 40.6%58 | 38.0%38 | 40.9%67 | 32.1%45 | 34.5%51 | 26.5%742 | 28.6%1001 | 138 |
| Once a day | 14.7%21 | 17.0%17 | 14.0%23 | 16.4%23 | 16.9%25 | 16.5%461 | 16.3%570 | 86 |
| Several times a week | 10.5%15 | 18.0%18 | 15.2%25 | 16.4%23 | 12.8%19 | 13.3%371 | 13.5%471 | 71 |
| Once a week | 7.7%11 | 3.0%3 | 3.0%5 | 1.4%2 | 1.4%2 | 4.5%125 | 4.2%148 | 27 |
| Less than once a week | 10.5%15 | 11.0%11 | 12.8%21 | 15.0%21 | 10.8%16 | 15.3%427 | 14.6%511 | 49 |
| Never | 16.1%23 | 13.0%13 | 14.0%23 | 18.6%26 | 23.6%35 | 24.0%673 | 22.7%793 | 90 |
| Missing | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 538 | 62 |
| Total | 100%143 | 100%100 | 100%164 | 100%140 | 100%148 | 100%2799 | 3494 |
Frequency of prayer by Political ideology
| Extremely liberal or liberal | Slightly liberal | Moderate, middle of the road | Slightly conservative | Extremely conservative or conservative | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 15.3%125 | 18.1%88 | 29.9%407 | 31.0%145 | 45.7%356 | 28.7%1121 | 18 |
| Once a day | 11.8%96 | 15.6%76 | 17.7%241 | 19.9%93 | 18.1%141 | 16.5%647 | 9 |
| Several times a week | 11.2%91 | 12.9%63 | 14.2%194 | 16.2%76 | 14.5%113 | 13.7%537 | 5 |
| Once a week | 4.0%33 | 4.5%22 | 5.5%75 | 4.9%23 | 2.7%21 | 4.4%174 | 1 |
| Less than once a week | 16.1%131 | 19.5%95 | 14.8%202 | 12.8%60 | 8.9%69 | 14.2%557 | 3 |
| Never | 41.7%340 | 29.4%143 | 17.8%243 | 15.2%71 | 10.1%79 | 22.4%876 | 7 |
| Missing | 14 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 120 | 25 |
| Total | 100%816 | 100%487 | 100%1362 | 100%468 | 100%779 | 3912 |
Frequency of prayer by Religion
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish/Other | None | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 44.2%754 | 28.8%236 | 23.4%67 | 6.4%71 | 28.7%1128 | 11 |
| Once a day | 19.8%337 | 23.8%195 | 15.7%45 | 6.5%72 | 16.5%649 | 7 |
| Several times a week | 16.2%276 | 16.6%136 | 11.5%33 | 8.3%93 | 13.7%538 | 4 |
| Once a week | 4.5%76 | 5.6%46 | 5.9%17 | 3.0%33 | 4.4%172 | 3 |
| Less than once a week | 11.5%197 | 16.2%133 | 18.2%52 | 15.9%177 | 14.2%559 | 1 |
| Never | 3.9%66 | 9.0%74 | 25.2%72 | 60.0%668 | 22.4%880 | 3 |
| Missing | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 106 | 52 |
| Total | 100%1706 | 100%820 | 100%286 | 100%1114 | 3926 |
Frequency of prayer by Sex
| Male | Female | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 22.5%387 | 33.8%738 | 28.8%1125 | 14 |
| Once a day | 13.7%235 | 18.4%403 | 16.3%638 | 18 |
| Several times a week | 11.4%197 | 15.6%342 | 13.8%539 | 3 |
| Once a week | 4.6%80 | 4.2%92 | 4.4%172 | 3 |
| Less than once a week | 16.9%291 | 12.2%267 | 14.3%558 | 2 |
| Never | 30.9%531 | 15.7%344 | 22.4%875 | 8 |
| Missing | 15 | 18 | 125 | 44 |
| Total | 100%1721 | 100%2186 | 3907 |
Related variables
A similar question appeared on Baylor Religion Survey, Wave II (2007) - Instructional DatasetQ17. About how often do you pray or meditate outside of religious services? (PRAY)
A similar question appeared on American National Election Studies, 2004
People practice their religion in different ways. Outside of attending religious services, do you pray SEVERAL TIMES A DAY, ONCE A DAY, A FEW TIMES A WEEK, ONCE A WEEK OR LESS, or NEVER? (PRAYFREQ)
A similar question appeared on General Social Survey 2014 Cross-Section and Panel Combined, (Inapplicable Responses Coded as Missing)
About how often do you pray? (PRAY)
Notes
The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2021 GSS.The 2021 cross-sectional General Social Survey has been updated to Release Version 3 as of July 2023. This Release includes the addition of respondent spouse/partner religious identities, socioeconomic statuses, and work information (including Occupation and Industry coding), and additional information about respondents' religious background.
To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the ARDA's Syntax Repository.
