Religious service attendance - Belief Statistics Topic
How often do you attend religious services? (USE CATEGORIES AS PROBES, IF NECESSARY.) (ATTEND)(General Social Survey, 2021)
Religious service attendance by Age
| 18-29 | 30-44 | 45-59 | 60-74 | 75 or older | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 41.5%168 | 34.5%337 | 27.7%250 | 25.5%259 | 23.0%88 | 29.9%1102 | 76 |
| Less than once a year | 14.8%60 | 14.9%145 | 14.5%131 | 14.4%146 | 11.8%45 | 14.3%527 | 38 |
| About once or twice a year | 10.1%41 | 13.3%130 | 13.1%118 | 10.4%106 | 7.3%28 | 11.5%423 | 30 |
| Several times a year | 9.4%38 | 8.9%87 | 11.0%99 | 11.6%118 | 8.1%31 | 10.1%373 | 30 |
| About once a month | 3.7%15 | 3.7%36 | 2.9%26 | 3.0%31 | 2.4%9 | 3.2%117 | 5 |
| Two to three times a month | 5.2%21 | 4.3%42 | 6.0%54 | 5.3%54 | 4.2%16 | 5.1%187 | 13 |
| Nearly every week | 5.2%21 | 5.2%51 | 9.2%83 | 10.3%105 | 12.3%47 | 8.3%307 | 24 |
| Every week | 7.7%31 | 10.3%101 | 12.6%114 | 14.7%150 | 24.3%93 | 13.3%489 | 43 |
| Several times a week | 2.5%10 | 4.8%47 | 3.1%28 | 4.7%48 | 6.5%25 | 4.3%158 | 20 |
| Missing | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 349 | 54 |
| Total | 100%405 | 100%976 | 100%903 | 100%1017 | 100%382 | 3683 |
Religious service attendance 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 100.0%1178 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 29.7%1178 | 0 |
| Less than once a year | 0.0%0 | 55.5%565 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 14.3%565 | 0 |
| About once or twice a year | 0.0%0 | 44.5%453 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 11.4%453 | 0 |
| Several times a year | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 100.0%403 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 10.2%403 | 0 |
| About once a month | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 37.9%122 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 3.1%122 | 0 |
| Two to three times a month | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 62.1%200 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 5.0%200 | 0 |
| Nearly every week | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 100.0%331 | 0.0%0 | 8.4%331 | 0 |
| Every week | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 74.9%532 | 13.4%532 | 0 |
| Several times a week | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 0.0%0 | 25.1%178 | 4.5%178 | 0 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 70 |
| Total | 100%1178 | 100%1018 | 100%403 | 100%322 | 100%331 | 100%710 | 3962 |
Religious service attendance 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 32.2%46 | 24.8%25 | 28.9%48 | 30.7%43 | 32.2%48 | 29.9%837 | 29.9%1047 | 131 |
| Less than once a year | 14.7%21 | 7.9%8 | 15.1%25 | 14.3%20 | 15.4%23 | 14.5%405 | 14.4%502 | 63 |
| About once or twice a year | 9.8%14 | 10.9%11 | 13.9%23 | 7.1%10 | 8.7%13 | 11.7%327 | 11.4%398 | 55 |
| Several times a year | 7.0%10 | 12.9%13 | 9.6%16 | 10.0%14 | 7.4%11 | 10.6%298 | 10.3%362 | 41 |
| About once a month | 4.2%6 | 10.9%11 | 2.4%4 | 1.4%2 | 2.7%4 | 2.9%80 | 3.1%107 | 15 |
| Two to three times a month | 6.3%9 | 7.9%8 | 3.6%6 | 5.0%7 | 5.4%8 | 5.0%139 | 5.1%177 | 23 |
| Nearly every week | 7.7%11 | 5.0%5 | 8.4%14 | 8.6%12 | 10.1%15 | 8.4%235 | 8.3%292 | 39 |
| Every week | 14.0%20 | 7.9%8 | 12.7%21 | 16.4%23 | 14.8%22 | 13.4%374 | 13.4%468 | 64 |
| Several times a week | 4.2%6 | 11.9%12 | 5.4%9 | 6.4%9 | 3.4%5 | 3.7%104 | 4.1%145 | 33 |
| Missing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 534 | 59 |
| Total | 100%143 | 100%101 | 100%166 | 100%140 | 100%149 | 100%2799 | 3498 |
Religious service attendance by Political ideology
| Extremely liberal or liberal | Slightly liberal | Moderate, middle of the road | Slightly conservative | Extremely conservative or conservative | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 45.4%373 | 34.8%169 | 28.6%389 | 20.8%98 | 16.9%132 | 29.6%1161 | 17 |
| Less than once a year | 14.5%119 | 17.9%87 | 15.4%209 | 12.7%60 | 11.6%90 | 14.4%565 | 0 |
| About once or twice a year | 12.4%102 | 12.6%61 | 11.3%153 | 12.1%57 | 9.9%77 | 11.5%450 | 3 |
| Several times a year | 7.9%65 | 9.7%47 | 10.8%147 | 12.5%59 | 10.3%80 | 10.2%398 | 5 |
| About once a month | 2.6%21 | 3.7%18 | 3.6%49 | 3.2%15 | 2.3%18 | 3.1%121 | 1 |
| Two to three times a month | 3.4%28 | 4.5%22 | 5.6%76 | 8.3%39 | 4.5%35 | 5.1%200 | 0 |
| Nearly every week | 4.0%33 | 4.7%23 | 8.8%119 | 13.4%63 | 11.2%87 | 8.3%325 | 6 |
| Every week | 7.7%63 | 9.3%45 | 11.7%159 | 14.0%66 | 24.4%190 | 13.4%523 | 9 |
| Several times a week | 2.1%17 | 2.7%13 | 4.3%59 | 3.0%14 | 9.0%70 | 4.4%173 | 5 |
| Missing | 9 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 116 | 22 |
| Total | 100%821 | 100%485 | 100%1360 | 100%471 | 100%779 | 3916 |
Religious service attendance by Religion
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish/Other | None | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 11.9%203 | 16.0%131 | 27.9%81 | 68.0%758 | 29.8%1173 | 5 |
| Less than once a year | 13.0%223 | 15.1%124 | 14.5%42 | 15.7%175 | 14.3%564 | 1 |
| About once or twice a year | 11.1%190 | 15.5%127 | 16.9%49 | 7.7%86 | 11.5%452 | 1 |
| Several times a year | 11.9%203 | 13.9%114 | 18.6%54 | 2.4%27 | 10.1%398 | 5 |
| About once a month | 3.3%56 | 4.6%38 | 4.8%14 | 1.3%14 | 3.1%122 | 0 |
| Two to three times a month | 6.6%113 | 7.1%58 | 5.5%16 | 1.1%12 | 5.1%199 | 1 |
| Nearly every week | 13.7%234 | 8.0%66 | 3.8%11 | 1.3%15 | 8.3%326 | 5 |
| Every week | 20.9%357 | 17.1%140 | 4.1%12 | 1.3%15 | 13.3%524 | 8 |
| Several times a week | 7.6%130 | 2.7%22 | 3.8%11 | 1.2%13 | 4.5%176 | 2 |
| Missing | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 98 | 53 |
| Total | 100%1709 | 100%820 | 100%290 | 100%1115 | 3934 |
Religious service attendance by Sex
| Male | Female | Total | Missing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 32.2%557 | 28.0%611 | 29.8%1168 | 10 |
| Less than once a year | 15.3%264 | 13.6%297 | 14.3%561 | 4 |
| About once or twice a year | 12.3%213 | 10.9%237 | 11.5%450 | 3 |
| Several times a year | 9.5%165 | 10.4%228 | 10.0%393 | 10 |
| About once a month | 3.1%54 | 3.0%65 | 3.0%119 | 3 |
| Two to three times a month | 5.0%87 | 5.0%110 | 5.0%197 | 3 |
| Nearly every week | 6.6%114 | 9.8%214 | 8.4%328 | 3 |
| Every week | 12.0%207 | 14.7%322 | 13.5%529 | 3 |
| Several times a week | 3.9%68 | 4.6%100 | 4.3%168 | 10 |
| Missing | 7 | 20 | 119 | 43 |
| Total | 100%1729 | 100%2184 | 3913 |
Related variables
A similar question appeared on Baylor Religion Survey, Wave II (2007) - Instructional DatasetQ4. How often do you attend religious services? (ATTEND)
A similar question appeared on American National Election Studies, 2004
Do you go to religious services EVERY WEEK, ALMOST EVERY WEEK, ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH, A FEW TIMES A YEAR, or NEVER? (CHRCHFRE)
A similar question appeared on ABC News-Washington Post Poll, Springtime Politics, 2005
Aside from weddings and funerals, how often do you attend religious services--at least once a week, a few times a month, or less often than that? (RELSRVS)
A similar question appeared on Religion and Public Life Survey, 2006
Aside from weddings and funerals how often do you attend religious services: more than once a week, once a week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, seldom, or never? (ATTEND)
A similar question appeared on General Social Survey 2014 Cross-Section and Panel Combined, (Inapplicable Responses Coded as Missing)
How often do you attend religious services? (ATTEND)
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.
