For a country that claims — according to Gallup — to be nearly 70% Christian, this is surprising.
As Americans make their Christmas plans, slightly less than half say they usually attend a church service during the holiday season.
A Lifeway Research study finds U.S. adults are split on whether they’ll be at church sometime this Christmas—47% say they typically attend church at Christmastime, while 48% say they do not, and 5% aren’t sure.
“The very name ‘Christmas’ originates in the church’s celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. In the mid-14th century, the words ‘Christ’s Mass’ were first merged as a single term for this celebration,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “While 9 in 10 Americans do something to celebrate Christmas, less than half typically attend church at Christmastime today.”
Pastors plan for larger crowds during the Christmas season. In 2023, Lifeway Research found U.S. Protestant pastors say they usually plan four events or activities to help their churches celebrate Christmas.
Around 4 in 5 pastors (81%) say Christmas is one of their three highest attendance worship services, according to a 2024 Lifeway Research study. Specifically, 28% say Christmas draws the most people to their church. During the season, churches see more people at their Christmas Eve service than other worship services, according to a 2022 Lifeway Research study.
This Christmas season, 47% of Americans say attending church is part of their usual holiday traditions, but some are more likely to show up than others.
Unsurprisingly, those who attend church most often are most likely to be there for Christmas. Christians who attend a worship service more than once a week (95%) are the most likely to say they typically attend this time of year.
Protestants (57%), Catholics (56%) and those from other religions (53%) are more likely than the religiously unaffiliated (21%) to report usually attending a church service. The religiously unaffiliated are the most likely to say no (71%). Those with evangelical beliefs are also far more likely than those without such beliefs to show up to church during Christmas (72% v. 40%).
