Most American churchgoers love church more than football. But a few diehard fans are willing to miss out on worship to watch a game.
About 1 in 7 churchgoers (15 percent) say they’d skip church in order to watch their favorite football team, according to a survey of 994 churchgoers from Nashville-based Lifeway Research.
Researchers found most of the faithful balk at skipping church for football.
More than 8 in 10 (83 percent) disagree with the statement: “I would skip a weekly worship service in order to watch my favorite football team.”
Many worshipers had particularly strong feelings—nearly 7 in 10 (68 percent) strongly disagree.
“Most churchgoers put divine revelation ahead of division rivalries,” says Scott McConnell, vice-president of Lifeway Research.
More from the study:
- Men are more than twice as likely to skip (22 percent) than women (10 percent)
- Those age 18-24 (22%) and 25-34 (24%) are more likely to skip than those age 45-54 (14%), 55-64 (12%), and 65+ (11%)
- Catholics are more willing (20 percent) than evangelicals (12 percent)
- Fans in the West (22 percent) are more willing to skip than those in South (13 percent) or Northeast (13 percent)
Read the entire story from Facts & Trends senior writer Bob Smietana at Lifeway Research.
