A recent Pew Research study examines how the pandemic affected four areas of American life, revealing five key shifts in religious life.
By Aaron Earls
While many Americans would like to or have put the COVID-19 pandemic behind them, the illness and subsequent societal upheaval brought about indelible changes to religious practice and attitudes in the U.S.
A recent Pew Research study examines how the pandemic affected four areas of American life: health, work, technology, and religion. Their data on religion reveals five key shifts continuing to impact churches.
1. The pandemic reshaped the religious life of many Americans
Before we understand how it changed religious life, the data tells us that it did for some Americans. Most (69%) say there was no change, but 3 in 10 (30%) say the pandemic had some type of impact on their personal religious or spiritual lives, including 10% who say it had a lot of impact.
3 in 10 Americans (30%) say the pandemic impacted their personal religious or spiritual lives, including 10% who say it had a lot of impact, according to @pewresearch. Share on XThose who say they were impacted are split on what type of effect the pandemic had. Around 1 in 10 say the pandemic had a mostly positive (10%), mostly negative (9%), or neither positive nor negative impact (11%).
As you think about those in your congregation or potential members, consider that most see the pandemic in the rearview mirror. But some still feel they’re dealing with spiritual repercussions.
2. Increased acceptance of church without the congregation
One of the effects of the pandemic has been a growing acceptance of viewing church services online as a substitute for attending in person. Americans are more likely to be attending religious services in person and less likely to be watching from their homes compared to the height of the pandemic in July 2020, according to Pew. However, churchgoers report a slight decrease in their in-person attendance and a slight increase in their viewing of church services online or on TV.
Asked about in-person participation, 48% say they weren’t attending before or since the pandemic. Around 3 in 10 (31%) say they participate about as much as they did before. Around 1 in 5 say their in-person attendance has changed, including 7% who attend more and 13% who attend less often.
With online or TV participation, 62% weren’t watching before or since. Almost 1 in 5 (18%) say they participate about as much as they did before the pandemic. Like in-person involvement, around 1 in 5 say their online or TV service participation has changed. But unlike in-person attendance, more people are saying their online or TV participation has increased (13%) rather than decreased (6%).
Lifeway Research found almost all churches were gathering in person by August 2022, but the average church was only seeing 89% of their pre-COVID attendance in August 2023. Many churchgoers continued to use live-streamed services beyond pandemic restrictions, though they saw some reasons for doing so as more valid than others, according to a 2022 Lifeway Research study.
This increase in church service streaming led to some changes in theological beliefs. Before the pandemic, around 2 in 5 evangelicals said worshiping alone or with one’s family was a valid replacement for regularly attending church, according to the regular State of Theology study. In 2022, however, that number jumped to 54%, by far the highest in the history of the study.
3. Surprising stability in church connections
One potentially surprising trend is that there’s not much of a change in church attendance of some form or fashion. In July 2020, 41% of Americans said they either attended an in-person worship or watched online or on TV. The percentage never dipped below 40% and is at 43% now.
About 4 in 5 Americans say their in-person attendance or online or TV viewing of a religious service has remained the same since before the pandemic. The small decrease in in-person involvement is almost exactly offset by an increase in online or TV participation. Despite all the changes and potential disruptions, around the same number of Americans have chosen to be connected in some way, whether in-person or digitally, to a church.
“Despite all the changes and potential disruptions, around the same number of Americans have chosen to be connected in some way, whether in-person or digitally, to a church.” — @WardrobeDoor Share on X4. Continued decline of mainline Protestantism
The stability in church involvement, either in-person or online, highlights the relative strength of evangelical and Black Protestant congregations. Both saw a small 3-point increase during the pandemic. In July 2020, 71% of white evangelicals and 70% of Black Protestants participated either physically or digitally in a worship service. Now, it’s 74% of white evangelicals and 73% of Black Protestants.
White non-evangelical or mainline Protestants were also stable but with drastically lower numbers. In July 2020, 37% participated in a religious service. As of the most recent survey, 38% say the same.
That group was also more likely to say the pandemic didn’t impact their religious or spiritual lives (75%) than white evangelicals (64%) and Black Protestants (54%). Unfortunately for mainline Protestants, that lack of change has only continued their downward slide.
5. Potential growth among young adults
While most age groups are attending at the same rate now as they did before the pandemic, the research indicates a potential increase among young adults. Not much has changed from July 2020 to October 2024 in the percentage who have participated in a religious service in the past month among those aged 30-49 (37% then v. 38% now), 50-64 (46% v. 46%), or 65 and older (50% v. 52%).
Among those aged 18-29, however, the attendance rates have bounced around more throughout the pandemic. Still, the overall trajectory is higher church involvement. In July 2020, 30% said they had participated in a religious service in the past month. In the most recent study, 38% say the same.
Churches could be seeing the first edge of a wave of Gen Z revival. But it’s too early to tell statistically.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
