WASHINGTON (RNS)—Predominantly Black congregations, known for their high levels of community outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, have remained the most stable in combined attendance—in person and online—compared with multiracial and white majority congregations.

But they are also facing the greatest monetary struggles, with 34 percent reporting their financial health is worse in 2023 than in 2018, compared with 29 percent of majority white congregations and 28 percent of multiracial congregations.

A new report highlights the challenges faced by Black and multiracial congregations, as well as their resilience, in the wake of a pandemic that prompted significant changes in worship and community service.

“As far as opening up as vaccine sites, to actually put in place mitigation measures—so whether that’s shutting down, encouraging masks—majority Black congregations and multiracial congregations led those efforts,” said B. Clarvon Watts, author of Understanding the Pandemic Impact on Black and Multiracial Congregations.

Watts is a sociologist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, which released the report Jan. 4.

Black congregations—affiliated with mainline, evangelical and historically Black denominations—often were significantly more involved in some responses to COVID-19.

Nearly all those surveyed—99 percent—encouraged vaccinations, compared with 53 percent of majority white congregations and 49 percent of multiracial congregations, defined in the report as those where no one racial group comprises more than 80 percent of the congregation.

Watts said many congregations featuring nonwhites embraced hybrid services as they adapted to the pandemic.

While majority white congregations were the most likely to offer a virtual worship opportunity at least once a week (82 percent), Black majority congregations were the most likely to offer multiple online worship opportunities throughout the week (27 percent), compared with 23 percent of multiracial congregations and 15 percent of white majority congregations.

The community involvement during the pandemic was an extension of the “octopus legs” of Black churches, Watts explained. Historically, these congregations often operated as hubs for providing education, legal and health opportunities for African Americans, who often were unable to access those resources elsewhere due to discrimination and segregation.

“You’re trying to meet multiple, multiple needs,” she said of the pandemic-influenced hybridity, “trying to provide in person and virtual worship, virtual programming, whether that’s education or it’s gathering to pray or gathering to do Communion.”

Likewise, multiracial congregations often sought to use the hybrid model for the range of families in their congregations, from working parents to immunocompromised congregants, she said.

Congregations reported a decrease in their local community activities from before the pandemic to 2023. While majority white congregations said their rate of involvement remained constant, the percentage of majority Black and multiracial congregations agreeing or strongly agreeing they were civically engaged decreased 21 percent and 12 percent respectively.

Congregations of all racial groups saw a significant decline of volunteers by summer 2021. Black congregations, by 2023, reported a return to the pre-pandemic level of about 30 percent of their congregation serving as regular volunteers. However, multiracial and majority white congregations, whose volunteers were near 40 percent before the pandemic, reported just 35 percent in 2023.

Report examined ministerial well-being

The report, which contrasted congregational life today with that pre-pandemic, also looked at clergy well-being over a two-year period.

Watts, who also runs a Black church’s nonprofit in Connecticut, said the pandemic exacerbated the already extensive roles of clergy who marry, counsel and bury congregants.

“I think it’s too big for any one person or any one institution,” she said, suggesting the need for greater partnerships in congregations and the community to support clergy.

In fact, the report notes clergy across the board, regardless of their congregation’s racial makeup, were more likely to have thoughts about exiting their congregations in 2023 than in 2021.

“The decreased well-being among clergy and increased consideration of leaving ministry or one’s faith community is a shared burden among all clergy, yet slightly less dire for Black Christian congregational leaders,” Watts stated in the report.

“Black clergy’s commitment to their call and subsequent congregations’ resilience throughout the pandemic has been and continues to be unwavering.”

The findings are based on data from the Faith Communities Today and the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations study. Sample sizes for Black majority congregations range from 140 in an EPIC study to 774 in a FACT study; for multiracial congregations, from 841 in EPIC to 2,623 in FACT; for white majority congregations, 2,802 in EPIC to 10,073 in FACT.

The estimate for the margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Bobby Gruenewald might know more about how Americans read the Bible than anyone else in the country.

For the past 15 years, Gruenewald, an online entrepreneur turned pastor, has run the popular YouVersion Bible app—a free application that has been downloaded more than 700 million times in the United States and around the world.

When people log on to the app, they don’t generally want to know what the Bible thinks about politics or hot-button social issues, Gruenewald said. Instead, they are usually looking for some reassurance that things are going to be all right.

“People are turning to Scripture and using it and looking at it in a way that reminds them of God’s faithfulness or hope,” Gruenewald said.

That search for hope is reflected in a list of the top 10 verses users searched for in 2023. The No. 1 verse for the third year running was Isaiah 41:10, which begins, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God,” in the New International Version.

Other popular searches included familiar verses like John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11—which speaks of God having plans to prosper his people—and Philippians 4:6, which reads, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

YouVersion is also one place where Americans aren’t arguing about God and politics. Gruenewald said the app—which includes hundreds of Bible translations in multiple languages, Bible reading plans, devotionals and a place to share prayer requests—tried to steer clear of politics or culture war feuds.

That’s in part because the app has an international audience and in part because the app’s developers want to draw people into engaging with the Bible, not drive them away.

“We didn’t want the Bible app to be a battleground for those issues,” said Gruenewald.

The YouVersion app has evolved dramatically over its lifespan. Gruenewald, a pastor on staff at Life.Church based in Oklahoma City, first came up with the idea for YouVersion while waiting in a security line in Chicago O’Hare International Airport in 2006.

YouVersion launched first as a website, where people could look up Bible verses online, and then morphed into an app with the proliferation of smart phones.

Focus on engaging with Scripture

In the early days, the app was focused on giving access to information about the Bible, Gruenewald said. Now the focus is also on engagement with the Bible.

In recent years, the popular Verse of the Day function has expanded to include devotionals and more of a daily experience with the Bible, Gruenewald said. The app also now includes guides on how to pray and ways to let people share prayer requests and get reminders to pray.

“You can ask your friends to pray for those requests, and you can be notified every time someone indicates that they pray for you,” said Gruenewald.

Much of the app’s more recent growth has come in places like India, Latin America and Africa. Of the more than 100 million downloads in 2023, according to YouVersion, more than 80 percent were outside the United States, where a lite version of the app for less-robust smart phones has become popular.

The success of the YouVersion app comes with a great deal of responsibility, Gruenewald said. YouVersion has collected data on tens of millions of users, which requires them to have powerful data security. That data would have great value to advertisers and other outside groups.

But it’s not for sale, Gruenewald said.

“We have been approached by everybody on the planet that wants to buy data,” he said. “We don’t even entertain the conversation. We don’t monetize the data.”

Instead, the app is funded by donors both inside and outside the church. The app is owned by Life.Church, which runs YouVersion as a distinct operation. The church also started a second nonprofit, YouVersionINC, in 2023 to support the app, according to IRS documents.

Given the troubles of other popular social media websites—most notably X, formerly known as Twitter, and TikTok—Gruenewald said the YouVersion team feels a responsibility to keep the app true to its mission and to honor the trust users have put in them.

“There are millions of people that are depending on the app to work,” he said. “And that’s not a trivial matter.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Majority Latino congregations report growth and stability in attendance and, on average, have younger participants—a sharp contrast to the declining attendance and aging congregations in most churches in the United States.

But more than other congregations across the country, Latino faith communities also face significant financial challenges.

The findings from a new Hartford Institute for Religion Research report, released Dec. 12, provide a rare look at the state of Christian churches with a majority population of Latinos.

“Latino congregations, by and large, constitute a more vibrant aspect of congregational life in the United States, particularly Christian congregational life,” said Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, author of Latino Congregations: Trends from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) and Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) Studies.

“They tend to be larger congregations and tend to have younger members, and this is, I think, similar to the Latino population as a whole in the United States.”

The report notes Latinos, who comprise 18.7 percent of the U.S. population, increased by 23 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the latest U.S. Census.

Lizardy-Hajbi, a sociologist of religion at Iliff School of Theology, said the report is unique in its look at this topic, which previously has been the subject of case studies and ethnographies.

It breaks down the share of majority Latino congregations, where Latinos are 50 percent or more of the attendees. The findings indicate 7 in 10 (71.8 percent) were evangelical Protestant, while 15.1 percent were mainline Protestant and 12.8 percent were Catholic and Orthodox.

However, 6 in 10 Latino congregational worshippers attend evangelical Protestant churches (61.7 percent), while about one-third are in Catholic churches (33.8 percent) and only 4.4 percent in mainline Protestant churches.

Overall, Latino congregations have a median of 80 weekly worship attendees, compared with non-Latino congregations, with a median of 65.

Latino churches face financial challenges

Even as Latino congregations fare better in attendance, they and their leaders struggle more with financial matters.

Overall, giving per capita in Latino faith communities based on average attendance is $1,250, compared with $2,000 for all congregations, the report stated.

Before COVID-19-related lockdowns, 62.7 percent of these faith communities said their financial health was “excellent” or “good.” Afterward, a much smaller percentage—26.1 percent—used that description. Those citing “some” or “serious” difficulty shifted in the same time frame from 2.4 percent to 41 percent.

“This trend is mirrored across all U.S. congregations, but it is reflected more drastically within Latino faith communities,” Lizardy-Hajbi wrote in the 29-page report.

“How denominations and other religious bodies are addressing the financial challenges facing Latino congregations most impacted by COVID-19 should be a conversation of priority.”

The clergy leading these congregations—41.7 percent of whom are Latinos and 40 percent non-Latino white—often earn their living outside the faith communities they lead. Whether part-time or full-time congregational leaders, more than a third have paid employment beyond their congregation. Two in 10, overall, are not paid for their congregational work.

Majority Latino congregations are half as likely (34.7 percent) to own the facilities where they meet than are non-Latino congregations (64.8 percent).

Owning, rather than renting, a facility may allow a congregation to better serve as a hub for the community, Lizardy-Hajbi said.

The report noted half (50.2 percent) of majority Latino congregations put “a lot” of emphasis on community service, while 33 percent of other congregations do.

It also described a mix of success in congregational growth. About 4 in 10 (43.6 percent) saw attendance grow more than 5 percent in the last five years, while 18.2 percent remained fairly stable, and 38.2 percent saw a decline of more than 5 percent.

“Still, the overarching picture for majority Latino congregations looks more promising than for other congregations; but time will tell whether dynamics of increasing non-affiliation and secularism will ultimately impact these faith communities,” Lizardy-Hajbi stated in the report.

The findings are based on a segment of research from the FACT survey of 15,278 congregations in 2020 and 2,074 responses to the EPIC survey conducted in 2021. The majority Latino congregations totaled 276 (1.8 percent) and 30 (1.4 percent), respectively.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—American Baptist pastor Susan Sparks, who is both a minister and a professional comedian, uses humor in her sermons to help her New York City congregation consider ways to approach those with whom they disagree.

Pastor Joel Rainey, who leads a West Virginia evangelical church, hosts a “special edition” of his preaching podcast to answer questions he’s received from his politically diverse congregation about hot-button issues.

Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin recently preached about anger, realizing it was an emotion felt by congregants of her Reform synagogue in Washington, no matter their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Fueled by their work in comedy, psychology and theology, some clergy say reducing polarization is both a spiritual necessity for them and an ever-increasing part of their job description.

Sparks, who has been on the Laugh in Peace comedy tour with a rabbi and a Muslim comic, said she can see shoulders relax and smiles appear on faces when she starts a sermon in a joking matter—such as the battle over what topping is appropriate on a sweet potato casserole. Then she can move into tougher subjects as she addresses her multiethnic congregation.

“I did a piece on how cancer does not discriminate between Republicans and Democrats,” said Sparks, a cancer survivor, referencing another sermon. “There’s things that we all experience, and we can start there and find that place, enjoy a little moment where we can share something and take tiny baby steps off that to move into harder territory.”

Preaching is one means, she and others say, that clergy can attempt to help congregants get along better with each other and, by extension, their families and friends.

“We used to have congregations where people would be shaped by Scripture and by their faith leader and then they would listen to the news and say, well, that does or doesn’t fit in with my faith,” said Andrew Hanauer, president and CEO of One America Movement, a Maryland-based organization founded in 2017 that supports leaders of congregations, from Southern Baptists to mainline Protestants to Muslims.

Now, as people often align first with a viewpoint they’ve heard on cable news or read in social media, he said clergy have to answer new questions: “How do you preach in a way that moves people out of complacency about the world in general, but also lets them know this is not a Democratic church or a Republican church—it’s a church for all God’s people?”

In recent years—especially since 2020—as clashes over race, politics and health have escalated into what Hanauer calls “toxic polarization,” clergy can feel like they are walking a knife’s edge in their sermons, as they preach to divided—and sometimes hostile—congregations.

Pastors seek ideas on how to heal division

One America Movement, along with the Colossian Forum and other clergy resource groups, has found pastors are seeking ideas for how to preach in ways that heal, rather than further widen, the social and political divides within their congregations.

In the last year and a half, Hanauer’s organization has worked with more than 100 clergy as they consider sermons or other messaging related to polarization.

Hanauer, a lay member of a nondenominational evangelical church, said his organization offers training to congregations or their leaders on how to manage difficult conversations, as well as listening sessions with clergy who are suffering from burnout and exhaustion. Its work has ranged from training rabbinical students—who went on to preach sermons against polarization—to a multi-faith initiative to address the opioid crisis in West Virginia.

“It’s not about going from red to blue to purple,” he said. “It’s about going above the partisan divisions and having a compelling vision for the world that is more hopeful and more positive.”

Schmelkin, a former staffer at One America Movement, has used what she learned from the organization’s listening sessions and trainings to find nuanced ways to address polarization in her sermons as an associate rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation.

She chose to preach on anger on the first Friday night in December, knowing the congregants, representing diverse views, likely were all feeling some level of rage amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Schmelkin talked to them about how God is described in the Torah as “slow to anger,” or “erech apayim.” She recommended drawing “a deep, intentional breath before reacting” as “the first step we can take to better manage our anger, to be a little more like God.”

In an interview, Schmelkin said she has had one-on-one discussions with people in her community who are grappling with divisions over the war—from parents whose college-age children hold different views from theirs to Jewish millennials who have discovered via Facebook some of their close friends do not share their perspectives on the conflict.

In November, she led a “healthy conversations” workshop for young adults coping with those differences and provided a script they could use that had been developed by the One America Movement and Over Zero, a group that uses communication to reduce division and violence.

One participant told Schmelkin afterward she used the script with a friend with whom she had major disagreements about the war, “and she felt like it saved her friendship.”

How people believe others perceive them

Rainey said he has learned terminology like “metaperception”—how people believe others perceive them—from One America Movement, which he first connected with when he joined other faith leaders in responding to the opioid crisis. He brought the concept into the pulpit by encouraging congregants to have “one conversation” with an individual instead of talking to others about that person.

“You don’t have to wonder what they think about you. You’re going to know,” said the pastor of Covenant Church, a predominantly white congregation in Shepherdstown, W.Va., where about 600 attend Sunday services. “Having one conversation is my way of saying, Don’t ever say anything about somebody that you wouldn’t say directly to them.’”

Rainey, who has been involved in interfaith activities, including a musical concert with Jews and Muslims at his church, said he has used his special-edition podcasts to address issues like Christian nationalism and Israel, issues on which his congregants have conflicting opinions.

“When Psalm 122 says, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,’ it’s not just the Jews,” he told listeners. “It’s everybody living in that space.”

Develop a ‘vision for conflict transformation’

The Colossian Forum, a Michigan-based organization founded in 2011, originally held issue-specific workshops on topics such as human sexuality and politics but since 2022 has broadened its focus through two-day “WayFinder” trainings.

More than 600 leaders from Christian organizations have gone through the training, seeking help with divisions over anything from “leadership changes to sanctuary carpet color,” according to the group’s website.

During the in-person training, Jess Shults and other staffers encourage participants to develop “a vision for conflict transformation,” she said. Using spiritual and leadership practices, they try to help participants see that divisions are not always a negative. They can be an opportunity to “reflect Christ in the midst of conflict.”

Shults said preaching alone is not sufficient to address polarization in a congregation.

“In an ideal setup, one would be pairing a sermon with, then, some kind of post-sermon conversation during an adult-ed hour,” said the former Reformed Church in America pastor, “so that one is recognizing the place of power they have when delivering a sermon and the community could be brought in.”

Shults also suggests clergy bounce their ideas off other church leaders as they prepare their sermons, to ensure the message reflects “the voice of the Spirit” and Scripture rather than their burnout or exhaustion.

Raymond Kemp, who teaches theology at Georgetown University and preaches regularly at a Catholic church in Potomac, Md., said a lengthy tenure in a pulpit can earn you the trust to address hot-button issues like race or immigration. Ordained in 1967, he has been preaching for over 30 years at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church.

“You can’t rent a preacher and have somebody come in and talk about polarization, I don’t think, without creating polarization,” he said. “They got to know the preacher, and they got to know that the preacher enjoys his craft or her craft and has built up enough trust in a community.”

In their book Preaching to a Divided Nation, Matthew D. Kim and Paul A. Hoffman argue it is imperative for clergy to address polarization and seek unity—not just for the sake of the congregation but as a peaceful example for the world beyond it.

“It’s not good enough for members of the family of God to make it through a worship service without engaging in physical or verbal warfare with a neighbor in the pew,” they write in the 2022 book. “There is a greater purpose for the church.”

Though it is hard to measure the level of impact preachers might be having on polarization within their congregations, many remain interested in getting tips and training for their sermons.

The Colossian Forum, whose name is based on the verse in the New Testament book of Colossians that says, “all things hold together in Christ,” reports an average increase of 20 percent in a leader’s confidence in helping a community dealing with conflict after taking its WayFinder training.

It also has seen an increase in calls from churches, seminaries and other Christian nonprofits as the 2024 election season approaches.

“We barely survived 2020, and nobody wants to repeat that,” Shults said their leaders have said. “And so, we need to be doing work now to help us be equipped to live into the next presidential election differently.”

This story was supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Americans have been abandoning organized religion in droves, and while some have walked away from religion altogether, a distinct group of Americans now call themselves “spiritual but not religious.”

A new Pew Research study puts their numbers at 22 percent of Americans and attempts to describe them in greater detail.

The study places people in the group according to their responses to this definition: “They think of themselves as spiritual or they consider spirituality very important in their lives, but they neither think of themselves as religious nor say religion is very important in their lives.”

The study of 11,201 U.S. adults found Americans broadly consider themselves spiritual—70 percent say they are spiritual in some way. And while the spiritual but not religious share many of the same spiritual beliefs as religious Americans, there are some key distinctions.

Like most Americans, the spiritual but not religious believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to a physical body. They say there is something spiritual beyond the natural world. And they believe there are some things science cannot explain.

But only 20 percent of the spiritual but not religious believe in God as described in the Bible. They are much less likely than religious Americans to say they believe in heaven (54 percent vs. 93 percent) or hell (40 percent vs. 83 percent).

And perhaps critically, only 11 percent of the spiritual but not religious are involved in a religious community (compared with 62 percent of religious adults).

Negative views toward organized religion

They may still affiliate with religion—45 percent of the spiritual but not religious say they are religiously affiliated, with one-fifth identifying as Protestant and 12 percent identifying as Catholic. But they have negative views of organized religion.

Among the spiritual but not religious, 38 percent say religion does more harm than good, while just 7 percent of religious Americans share this view.

“That label ‘spiritual but not religious’ really describes a kind of negative identity more than it describes a particular positive identity,” said Nancy Ammerman, a retired professor of sociology at Boston University who served as an adviser for the Pew study.

“It describes people who are turned off by organized religion. The ‘not religious’ part of the identity is the real key to the identity.”

These Americans feel they don’t fit in a religious setting, Ammerman said.

But as the study also found, the group has largely not replaced congregational belonging with some other form of spiritual gathering.

While 18 percent of religious Americans belong to a nonreligious “spiritual community” that helps them find a connection with something bigger than themselves, only 13 percent of the spiritual but not religious belong to a spiritual community.

Demographically, the spiritual but not religious are more likely to be women; 57 percent are women, 42 percent are male.

Ryan Cragun, a professor of sociology at The University of Tampa who studies the nonreligious, said the higher female ratio among the spiritual but not religious makes sense. Historically, men have more societal permission to say they’re atheist or agnostic.

“Women suffer a lot of discrimination generally, and so they’re less likely to be willing to stake out a position that could subject them to more discrimination. So, they say, ‘I may not be religious but I’m spiritual,’” Cragun said. “And that softens the blow very quickly.”

Politically, the spiritual but not religious identify as Democrats rather than Republicans by a ratio of 2-to-1. Sixty percent say they identify or lean Democratic; 34 percent identify or lean Republican. (Among religious Americans only 39 percent identify or lean Democratic.)

The study, the first of its kind, was fielded in early August. Pew has not previously asked specific questions about spiritual beliefs and practices, so the study cannot address decline or growth in spiritual attitudes.

The margin of error for the full sample of 11,201 respondents was plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—Churches this year are planning an average of four extra events or activities to help members and guests celebrate Christmas this year, Lifeway Research discovered.

A Christmas Eve service tops the list, with 4 in 5 pastors (81 percent) saying their churches plan to offer such a service this year in addition to weekly worship services.

Most churches also are planning to offer a Christmas service project (66 percent) and a Christmas event or party for children or youth (65 percent).

Half of pastors said their congregation plans to have a Christmas children’s musical or drama (49 percent). Around 2 in 5 plan on having a Christmas Day service (41 percent), Christmas concert (39 percent) or Christmas musical or drama (38 percent).

Another 1 in 10 say they are planning to offer a live nativity (10 percent) or planning something else (10 percent).

Few say they do not plan to have any additional events beyond weekly worship services (2 percent) or aren’t sure (1 percent).

“In recent years many churches have trimmed the number of programs they have during the week. But Christmas celebrations still fill the calendar for the typical church,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.

“Most churches plan Christmas events for all ages and create experiences that go beyond worship services.”

What do churchgoers want for Christmas?

Churchgoers say they enjoy going to an average of four church-led Christmas events from a list of potential events. Most say they greatly enjoy listening to a choir singing Christmas songs or a concert (60 percent), listening to congregational singing of Christmas songs (59 percent), participating in singing Christmas songs (57 percent), seeing children singing or in a drama for Christmas (57 percent) or participating in a Christmas service project (52 percent).

Two in 5 churchgoers say they greatly enjoy seeing a live nativity (40 percent) and participating in Christmas parties among members (38 percent).

Another 35 percent say they enjoy lighting Advent candles, while 3 percent don’t greatly enjoy any of these things, and 1 percent aren’t sure.

“Some churchgoers may attend a church that doesn’t offer Christmas events they have enjoyed a lot in the past,” McConnell said. “So, they may participate in activities at neighboring churches as they celebrate Christmas.”

Demographic differences noted

The smallest churches, those with fewer than 50 in attendance, are least likely to say they are offering a Christmas concert (27 percent), a musical or drama (28 percent), a children’s musical or drama (31 percent), a Christmas event or party for youth or children (46 percent) or a Christmas service project (56 percent).

Churches established prior to 1900 are more likely than the newest churches, those started between 2000 and 2023, to have a Christmas concert (42 percent v. 29 percent). Churches started before 1900 (74 percent) and between 1900 and 1949 (68 percent) are more likely than those at the newest churches (53 percent) to offer a Christmas service project. Churches birthed prior to 1990 also are most likely to plan a Christmas Eve service (89 percent).

The oldest pastors, those 65 and older, are the least likely to say their church is planning a Christmas event or party for children or youth (55 percent) or a Christmas Eve service (74 percent).

“The smallest churches are much less likely to offer Christmas activities that require a lot of people to produce because they just don’t have those people,” McConnell said. “But small churches are just as likely as larger ones to offer a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service.”

Denominationally, Methodist pastors are the most likely to say they are planning a Christmas concert (53 percent). Lutheran pastors are the most likely to say they will offer a children’s musical or drama (70 percent) and a Christmas Day service (71 percent). Restorationist movement churches are the least likely to offer a Christmas Eve service (52 percent).

While Hispanic pastors are among the most likely to say their church will offer a live nativity (21 percent), African American pastors are the least likely to say they will be having a Christmas Eve service (46 percent). And mainline pastors are more likely than evangelical pastors to say they are having a Christmas Day service (48 percent v. 41 percent).

Females are more likely than male churchgoers to say they enjoy singing Christmas songs (61 percent vs. 52 percent), listening to a choir singing Christmas songs or a concert (64 percent vs. 55 percent), seeing children singing or in a drama for Christmas (62 percent vs. 51 percent), lighting Advent candles (37 percent vs. 31 percent), participating in a Christmas service project (59 percent vs. 43 percent) and seeing a live nativity (46 percent vs. 32 percent).

Age matters

Churchgoers aged 50 to 64 (62 percent) and 65 and older (66 percent) are more likely than those 18 to 34 (45 percent) and 35 to 49 (43 percent) to say they greatly enjoy singing Christmas songs.

Similarly, the oldest churchgoers are the most likely and the youngest churchgoers are the least likely to say they enjoy listening to congregational Christmas singing (71 percent and 38 percent).

Churchgoers aged 50 to 64 (63 percent) and 65 and older (67 percent) are more likely than those 18 to 34 (50 percent) and 35 to 49 (50 percent) to say they greatly enjoy listening to a choir or concert.

And churchgoers aged 50 to 64 (63 percent) and 65 and older (61 percent) are more likely than those 18 to 34 (50 percent) and 35 to 49 (47 percent) to say they greatly enjoy seeing children singing or in a drama for Christmas.

However, the youngest adult churchgoers, those ages 18 to 34, are more likely than the oldest, those 65 and older, to enjoy participating in Christmas parties among members (45 percent vs. 33 percent).

“Much like some radio stations, many churches spend several weeks each year singing Christmas songs. But the enjoyment of these songs in churches is not uniform, with far fewer young adults enjoying this custom,” McConnell said.

Churchgoers who attend worship services at least four times a month are more likely than those who attend one to three times a month to say they greatly enjoy singing Christmas songs (62 percent vs. 50 percent) and listening to congregational singing of Christmas songs (63 percent vs. 54 percent).

Additionally, churchgoers with evangelical beliefs are more likely than those without to enjoy singing Christmas songs (62 percent vs. 51 percent), listening to congregational singing (65 percent vs. 53 percent), seeing children sing or perform a Christmas drama (63 percent vs. 51 percent), participating in service projects (56 percent vs. 47 percent) and seeing a live nativity (44 percent vs. 35 percent).

Meanwhile, those in the largest churches, 250 to 499 (59 percent) and 500 or more (59 percent) are more likely than those in the smallest churches, fewer than 50 (46 percent) and 50 to 99 (48 percent), to say they greatly enjoy participating in Christmas service projects.

Similarly, those attending churches with worship attendance of 250 to 499 (49 percent) are more likely than those with fewer than 50 (38 percent), 50 to 99 (37 percent) or 100 to 249 (39 percent) to say they enjoy live nativities.

The online survey of American Protestant churchgoers was conducted Sept. 19-29. Analysts used quotas and slight weights to balance gender, age, region, ethnicity, education and religion to reflect the population more accurately. The completed sample is 1,008 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence the sampling error from the panel does not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percent.

The phone survey of American Protestant pastors was conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 20. Responses were weighted by region and church size to reflect the population more accurately. The completed sample is 1,004 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence the sampling error from the panel does not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percent.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—A majority of young Americans from a variety of faiths and no faith say they have experienced a sacred moment, according to a new survey, but their definitions of what is sacred may not line up with those of their parents or grandparents.

The Springtide Research Institute report, “The State of Religion & Young People 2023: Exploring the Sacred,” pushes back on the notion that Gen Z exhibits a simple disinterest in matters of the divine or the spiritual.

More than half—55 percent—of the more than 4,500 people ages 13 to 25 who were surveyed told Springtide’s researchers that they have discovered what Springtide called “experiences that evoked a sense of wonder, awe, gratitude, deep truth, and/or interconnectedness in your life.”

Of those who had, 69 percent said they had experienced a sacred moment more than once in nature, 68 percent said they’d done so in the privacy of their home, and 55 percent said at a place of worship. Respondents could select more than one option.

Besides answering the survey, conducted in October 2022, almost three dozen submitted to interviews with researchers who listened to their descriptions of these moments.

‘The sacred in nontraditional spaces’

Tricia Bruce, director of the Springtide Research Institute, said the report highlights “the prevalence and the overlap of the sacred in nontraditional spaces” even as, increasingly, young people say they have never crossed the thresholds of houses of worship.

“Certainly, we might expect young people to tell us, ‘Yes, I’ve experienced the sacred when I attended a religious service or in prayer,’ and they do. But they also told us: ‘I experienced the sacred in nature,’ ‘I experienced the sacred when I got into college,’ ‘I experienced the sacred in a virtual connection,’” Bruce told Religion News Service in an interview.

“Creative spaces that we may not think of as sacred themselves, or as religious, or we may not materially construct as such, young people are telling us that, in fact, that’s where the sacred lives for them.”

Nearly a third of those surveyed—31 percent—told Springtide they had never participated in a spiritual or religious community. Also, 72 percent of young people trust organized religion only somewhat (45 percent) or not at all (27 percent).

Bruce said the report has implications for faith leaders, particularly youth ministers, who may have been focusing on answering the question, “How do we get young people back?”

Clergy might want to redefine what they consider sacredness, she said. “If we’re looking for the sacred, maybe for young people it does mean going together to have these experiences in these places and beginning to open wide the world as a potentially sacred place through those personal, relational and extraordinary moments.”

For example, Springtide found 56 percent of young people said they considered their daily or weekly engagement in art as religious or spiritual practices, as did 54 percent of those who spent time in nature, 49 percent of those who read and 45 percent of those who prayed.

In interviews for the report, the top five terms voiced by young people defining “the sacred” were: special, relationships, places of worship, religion and God.

The report urged faith leaders and other adults who work with young people in religious or secular settings to consider fostering what Springtide called a “sacred sensibility” by helping them connect to the divine in new ways, build close relationships with others and feel emotions that contribute to well-being.

In interviews, young people said they were yearning for such opportunities, “even if they make me uncomfortable,” said one respondent.

Among the ways adults can answer those requests, Springtide suggests, is to listen to how young people define sacredness and be vulnerable about expressing their own faith, which could help those younger than them on their own spiritual journeys.

“Inviting young people beyond the traditional and typical provides room for them to experience something beyond the ordinary,” the report states.

Other findings about young people from the 72-page report include:

• 68 percent say they are at least slightly religious—32 percent slightly, 25 percent moderately and 10 percent very.
• 78 percent say they are at least slightly spiritual—32 percent slightly, 29 percent moderately and 17 percent very.
• 28 percent say they have become more spiritual or religious over the past two years.

The research is based on a sample of 4,546 young people ages 13 to 25 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The respondents included 62 percent ages 18 to 25 and 38 percent ages 13-17.

The data, collected in October 2022, is nationally representative for age, gender, race/ethnicity and region. But the report notes it is unclear how representative it is about religion so “data are therefore best understood as tracking broad patterns rather than providing precise point estimates.”

Springtide, a Minnesota-based research institute, was founded in 2019 and is rooted in the tradition of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic lay religious organization that has focused on addressing the needs of young people.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—When churchgoers move to a new congregation, most say their reasons for change had a little to do with both their old and new churches.

Lifeway Research studied 1,001 U.S. adults who identify as Protestant or nondenominational, attend church worship services at least twice a month and have attended more than one church as an adult.

During the research screening process, it was determined 53 percent of U.S. regular churchgoers say they have attended more than one church as an adult.

Among those who have switched congregations, 63 percent say they’ve regularly attended only two to three churches as an adult, while another 22 percent have attended four to five congregations.

Fewer say they’ve been active at six to seven churches (8 percent), eight to nine (3 percent) or 10 or more (4 percent).

For most of those changing churches, changing homes was a factor. Three in 5 church switchers—60 percent—say a residential move impacted their decision to leave their previous church and begin attending a new one.

 “The reason pastors and churchgoers talk about church switchers is because it is not a negligible number of people changing churches,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.

“However, chronic church switching is not the norm. The biggest group of churchgoers are those who have been at the same church throughout their adult lives, and the next biggest group are those whose church changes were necessitated by moving too far to attend their previous church.”

Reasons for leaving

Still, 40 percent of church changes were driven by something other than a residential move. When examining reasons people switched to a new congregation without moving, several factors stand out.

More than 1 in 4 church switchers say they changed because some things changed about the church they did not like (29 percent), the church was not fulfilling their needs or reasons for attending church (29 percent), they became disenchanted in some ways with the pastor (27 percent) or they became disenchanted with the church (26 percent).

For 22 percent, the change happened because they could not agree with some of the church’s teachings or positions on issues or politics. One in 5 say they felt out of place at their previous church—20 percent—or changes in their life situation caused them to stop attending (18 percent).

Issues related to COVID-19 drove 13 percent of church switchers to find a new congregation. Around 1 in 10 say they left because they had problems or conflicts with someone else at the church or the congregation itself had a conflict (11 percent) or their beliefs or attitudes toward church and religion changed (9 percent).

For 2 percent, they had to find a new church because their previous one closed. Another 23 percent say they stopped attending for other reasons.

 “The typical person changing churches has multiple reasons for making this change,” McConnell said. “Broadly speaking, people leave a church when they disagree with change, are disgruntled or disagree with the church’s positions. It is much less common to see people leaving because their own religious beliefs changed.”

For each of the reasons given by those whose church change was not the result of a residential move, more specific church-switching justifications exist.

• Changes in the church

Among the 29 percent who say they changed churches because the church itself changed, more than half (53 percent) say too many things in general changed.

Around 2 in 5 (39 percent) say the church’s teachings on political or social issues changed in ways they didn’t agree with. For 1 in 3, the church’s religious teachings or beliefs changed in ways they didn’t agree with (34 percent) or the pastor or church staff they liked left the church (33 percent).

• Unfulfilled needs

For the 29 percent who say they switched due to the church not fulfilling their needs, most (62 percent) say their previous church was not helping them to develop spiritually. For 2 in 5 (41 percent), they did not feel engaged or involved in meaningful work in the church.

Around a quarter say they did not become friends or close with anyone at the church (27 percent), the church did not help them find happiness (26 percent), the church did not help them find answers to questions in their life (22 percent) or no one seemed to care about their situation or problems (22 percent).

• Pastoral problems

The 27 percent who left their previous church due to the pastor have a mix of complaints. They’re most likely to say the pastor seemed hypocritical (36 percent). A third (33 percent) say the pastor was not a good preacher. Around 3 in 10 say the pastor was judgmental of others (30 percent) or seemed insincere (29 percent). Close to a quarter say the pastor had a moral or ethical failure (24 percent) or had no clear purpose or vision (23 percent).

• Congregational disappointments

Among the 26 percent who switched after being disenchanted with their previous congregation, 32 percent point to members being judgmental of others, 30 percent say members seemed hypocritical, 29 percent believe the church didn’t really seem to be a place where God was at work, 29 percent say the church settled for mediocrity and 26 percent believe the church was run by a clique that discouraged others from getting involved.

• Teaching and issue disagreements

More than 1 in 5 (22 percent) of those who left a congregation for non-residential move reasons say it was related to the church’s teaching or position on issues.

The specific reasons under that category paint a complicated picture. One in 3 (33 percent) say the pastor or church seemed aligned with a particular political party or ideology. Another 31 percent point to teachings on theological issues, 26 percent to teachings on applying the Bible to life issues and 24 percent to teachings on moral issues.

For 28 percent, their previous pastor or church was too liberal for their taste, while 23 percent say their previous pastor or church was too conservative. Additionally, 22 percent say the church was too politically active, while 8 percent say the congregation didn’t engage in politics enough.

More than 1 in 5 say their pastor expressed woke opinions (22 percent) or ignored injustice (22 percent). One in 5 (20 percent) say they felt judged based on their political views.

• Out of place

For the 20 percent who say they felt out of place at their previous church, the top reason was because they had a different view of church or religion than the other members (43 percent).

Many also said their home or family situation was different than most members (30 percent), they felt out of place in terms of social class or education (28 percent) or most other members were a different age than them (23 percent). Few say they left because most other members were of a different ethnicity (6 percent).

• Life changes

Among the 18 percent who say life changes pulled them away from their previous church, 26 percent say family or home responsibilities prevented them from attending, and 24 percent point to a work situation keeping them away.

Relationship issues played a role for some, including 19 percent who divorced, separated or were widowed, 17 percent who were taking or going with someone else who no longer attended, and 11 percent who got married. Another 15 percent say illness or infirmity kept them away.

Around 1 in 10 say they simply got too busy to attend (11 percent), they just wanted a break from church (11 percent) or their children’s activities were on Sunday (8 percent).

• COVID-19

The pandemic contributed to the decisions of 13 percent of those who changed churches for reasons other than a residential move. The primary reason those churchgoers say they switched congregations is their previous church closed temporarily (55 percent), and 9 percent say their church closed permanently.

Other reasons revolve around different responses to COVID-19. A quarter (25 percent) say their previous church focused too much on streaming services. For 21 percent, their church did not take COVID-19 seriously enough.

Almost 1 in 5 (19 percent) say the church implemented COVID-19 policies they disagreed with, and 15 percent say the pastor or church expressed an attitude toward COVID-19 that differed from their own. Close to 1 in 10 say the church made no changes due to the pandemic (11 percent), and 9 percent say the church argued too much about COVID-19.

Old versus new

Church switchers are slightly more likely to say their decision to change congregations was motivated by a need or desire to join their current church (52 percent) than to leave their previous one (48 percent). Understandably, those who changed churches are likely to say their current church is performing better than their previous one.

When comparing their current church and the one they left, more than half of church switchers say their current congregation meets their needs more with sermons that are consistently engaging or enlightening (58 percent), preaching that is relevant to their life (58 percent), church members and pastors who seem authentic (57 percent), being welcoming or friendly (57 percent), fostering spiritual growth (56 percent), caring for the community in tangible ways (56 percent), having unity among members (55 percent) and doing things with excellence (55 percent).

Most church switchers also say they see God at work in people’s lives at their new congregation more than their previous one (57 percent), find it easy to worship because of the style and elements of the worship service (54 percent), have developed deep relationships with fellow church members (52 percent) and agree with the teachings, beliefs or doctrines (52 percent).

Not quite half say their current church is better at making them feel like they don’t want to miss services (49 percent), providing them with opportunities to use their talents (49 percent), being actively involved (49 percent) and having worship services that are convenient for them to attend (48 percent).

Many say their current church and previous church are the same in those areas. Only on three topics do at least 1 in 10 church switchers grade their previous church higher—13 percent say they have fewer deep relationships with fellow church members in their current church; 13 percent say they are less actively involved; and 10 percent say their current church provides fewer opportunities to use their talents to serve.

“Almost half of church switchers are motivated by the need to get out of a church they are displeased with. But that doesn’t mean the change won’t impact them for the better,” McConnell said.

“While the biggest improvements reported by church switchers are things they receive, large numbers also report that personal spiritual growth, deeper relationships, increased involvement and service resulted from their church move.”

Thinking specifically about preaching, church switchers praise their current pastor’s sermons more when compared to their previous one. Almost 9 in 10 (89 percent) say the sermons in their current church are clear and understandable, compared to 48 percent who say the same about their previous church.

Similar percentages say sermons at their current church are interesting enough to hold their attention (88 percent) versus at their previous church (44 percent).

For each issue, church switchers are far more likely to praise their current church’s sermons than sermons from their previous church, including being relevant to their life (85 percent vs. 49 percent), challenging them to live and think as Scripture teaches (84 percent vs. 43 percent), teaching them something they didn’t already know (84 percent vs. 43 percent), focusing on a specific topic (82 percent vs. 44 percent) and focusing on a specific text from the Bible (81 percent vs. 44 percent).

Church switchers are most likely to say their current church is the same size as their previous church (56 percent). Among those who changed church size, however, they’re more likely to move to a larger one (27 percent) than switch to a smaller church (17 percent). A statistically significant number moved to a church with more than 250 in worship attendance (27 percent), compared to those who previously were in such a church and switched (22 percent).

Half (49 percent) of church switchers say their previous church had a traditional style of worship, while only 38 percent say the same about their new congregation.

Most of those who switched worship styles made their way to a congregation with a mix of contemporary and traditional, as 30 percent say that mix described their previous church and 39 percent say it describes their current one.

Additionally, 20 percent say their previous congregation was contemporary, and 23 percent say the same about their new one.

Committed to the current congregation

Those who have left one church and joined another seem to be as bought in or more so in their current congregation as their previous one. Almost 3 in 4 (73 percent) say they formally joined or became members at their current church, similar to the 71 percent who say they did the same at their previous congregation.

Church switchers are more likely to say they are involved in their current church compared to their previous one in several ways, including attending worship services in person (76 percent vs. 59 percent), being a consistent financial supporter of the church (66 percent vs. 51 percent), volunteering when opportunities arise (60 percent vs. 43 percent), attending a small group (56 percent vs. 41 percent) and holding a non-leader position with regular responsibilities (47 percent vs. 35 percent).

They are just as likely to say they held a leadership position at their previous church (34 percent) as they are to say they are holding a leadership position at their current church (34 percent). Church switchers are more likely to say they serve on a church council or board at their current church (33 percent) compared to their previous one (25 percent).

Most church switchers seem to believe their switching days are behind them now. Almost 4 in 5 (78 percent) say they plan to continue attending the same church in the foreseeable future. Close to 1 in 5 (19 percent) say they plan to continue attending the same church, but they’re open to switching in the future. Few (3 percent) say they are actively looking for a new church.

 “The lack of engagement among members often concerns pastors. Ironically, one thing that appears to spur some people to get more involved at church is leaving to go to a new church,” McConnell said.

“While few pastors would encourage such a move, challenging people to focus less on what displeases them and instead investing in relationships and serving others is a journey worth taking.”

The online survey of American Protestant churchgoers was conducted July 26 to August 4 using a national pre-recruited panel. Respondents were screened to include those who identified as Protestant/non-denominational and attend church worship services at least twice a month and have attended more than one church as an adult.

Analysts used quotas to balance gender, age, region, ethnicity, education, and religion to reflect the population more accurately. The completed sample is 1,001 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence that the sampling error from the panel does not exceed plus or minus 3.1 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—James Walvin, a former Church of England choirboy and professor of history at the University of York, doesn’t remember encountering “Amazing Grace,” in song or in his hymnal.

It wasn’t until he traveled to the United States to research the history of slavery that he came upon the hymn introduced by John Newton, a former slave trader, in 1773.

Since then, Walvin, the author of the new book Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn, has submerged himself in the hymn, which turns 250 this year and has become a staple of Sunday services that has been adapted and adopted by preachers, performers and presidents.

“I wasn’t too keen on Elvis’ version,” Walvin said after a recent visit to the Library of Congress’ “Amazing Grace” collection, which includes more than 3,000 recordings of the song—the only one of Newton’s hundreds of hymns that gained such international stature.

“I certainly was not keen on (1960s orchestra leader) Mantovani’s version,” he added. “I was amazed to listen to Janis Joplin’s version. I mean, who’d think of Janis Joplin and ‘Amazing Grace?’”

Among the thousands of versions, Walvin is especially fond of bass-baritone Paul Robeson’s but gives a nod to “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin as well as “a choir from Soweto, an extraordinarily haunting version of it,” saying they are all “effective in their own different, very distinctive ways.”

Walvin, 81, a longtime non-Christian, spoke to Religion News Service about the hymn, its composer and the “electrifying event” when President Barack Obama drew on its power.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Why has “Amazing Grace” endured for 250 years?

“Amazing Grace” survived, particularly in the United States and especially in African American communities, because its words speak to a human condition of suffering, and people coming out of suffering, and its music has a kind of haunting refrain that soothes. It has a unique combination of important phraseology—words, verses—and the beguiling music.

How do you explain the fact that John Newton, a former slave trader, wrote a hymn that’s treasured by enslaved people and their descendants?

I think young people find it very hard to get their heads around the fact that here is a hymn of great Christian significance written by a man who’s stained by the brutality and violence of slavery. It’s a historical paradox, really.

But it extends beyond that hymn. There are millions of people at the time, on both sides of the Atlantic, ensnared in slavery, one way or another, who are deep Christians, God-fearing men and women who see no contradiction in their faith and their behavior toward Africans. And that’s one of the extraordinary, difficult things to understand.

You write that Newton spent years trying to become a Church of England priest before he was able to lead a parish and share his hymns. So, this song might never have reached the international stage?

Yes, it speaks to John Newton’s perseverance. To become a minister, you had to have gone to one of the two main universities, Oxford or Cambridge, and he hadn’t been close to either of them. He was not formally educated. Yet he was a deeply learned man, and a deeply religious man. He had to fight against the institutions and against the church to let him in.

Though most of the words are 250 years old, the tune we know best today is newer. How did that come about?

The music that we associate with “Amazing Grace” today is not what people sang for 60 years after Newton wrote it in (December) 1772. We know from the Lomax family—a father and son who recorded folk songs in the United States in the backwoods—that people sang the words through an extraordinary variety of songs. But it’s the music that we now know came together with the words in the 1830s that actually creates that combination that is so potent and so durable.

You trace the hymn’s growing stature as the radio and recording industries grew. Is there an apex? Maybe President Obama’s singing it in 2015, in his eulogy for Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Rev. Clementa Pinckney?

I think what Obama did was to tap into the familiarity and popularity of the hymn in the United States. Obama knew if he sang it on that particularly very emotive moment that he would secure the backing of this largely African American audience in Charleston.

When he begins to sing, it looks as if it’s spontaneous, and no one would claim that President Obama has a good singing voice. But it is an astonishing moment. And if you look at the way the clerics behind him rise to the occasion, and the background musicians—they’re scrambling to get their instruments lined up and working with the president.

He knew the congregation would follow him, and he knew that, by 2015, “Amazing Grace” had become effectively a second national anthem. Very few people don’t know it, don’t know of it or don’t recognize it.

You note that advertisers have used “Amazing Grace.” Can you name some examples?

People sell candies. They sell doughnuts. They sell funeral plans with “Amazing Grace” in the background. Sometimes people don’t notice but it’s that subconscious music that somehow or other lulls people into a sense of appreciation for what’s being promoted.

“Amazing Grace” was part of the soundtrack of the civil rights movement. What role did it play in the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in particular?

At the end of those long, grueling days, when he’s exhausted, threatened by all kinds of horrible violence, as he was trying to unwind and relax in the evening, Mahalia Jackson would sing “Amazing Grace” to him on the telephone. If that isn’t an extraordinary insight into both those people, Jackson and King, I don’t know what is. Here is one of America’s great gospel singers and one of America’s great leaders, united in “Amazing Grace.”

While there are many performances of “Amazing Grace” that you praise, you call the use of a few of its lines by Jan. 6 insurrectionists “a shameless hijacking of a much-loved American song.”

It is interesting that a small section of the crowd tried to use the hymn, but they ran out of steam. No one knew the words after the first verse.

How have you celebrated the 250th anniversary?

The anniversary was launched in Olney in Buckinghamshire, which is where it was written and first performed on New Year’s Day in 1773. I was there. I talked about the hymn in this little village where this lovely church still exists—where Newton was the rector.

I’m going to speak at the end of this year’s celebrations. (Earlier this month) I spoke at a care home in York to only 12 people—old people mostly not really very alert for all the obvious reasons, but they wanted to hear me talk about “Amazing Grace.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—America’s congregations are in trouble these days.

They’ve faced polarization, a worldwide pandemic, shrinking memberships, a changing culture and uncertain futures.

Like most of us, they could use a few friends to face their troubles with and figure out together how best to respond, says Samford University sociologist Jennifer McClure Haraway.

 “Congregations are experiencing a lot of change in opportunities and challenges,” Haraway said. “We navigate those more effectively when we work together. When we feel like we’re alone, we tend not to navigate them as well.”

In her new book No Congregation Is an Island, Haraway hopes to remind churches and other houses of worship of the benefits of working together. The book is based on a survey of more than 400 congregations in and around Birmingham, Ala., about how they partner with other congregations.

After finishing her initial studies in 2017 and 2018, Haraway wrote a series of academic papers about her findings. But, she said, no one aside from her fellow scholars read the studies.

“Those articles are very technical, and I can’t hand them to any local minister, even though they have practical applications,” she said.

That led to turning her findings into a short and helpful book that would be accessible to congregational leaders. Based on her initial findings along with follow-up interviews and stories, the book looks at how congregations work together with folks from their own tradition as well as those from other groups—and gives tips on how to collaborate better.

Build friendships with other ministry leaders

One of her tips: Go to denominational meetings, which still matter even during a time when those denominations are in decline. But go for the friendship, not necessarily the programs or debates.

“One of the most important things these events can and should nurture are the relationships between ministers and leaders,” she writes.

While working in their own tradition is simpler—having shared theology and common practices makes trust easier—ministers shouldn’t limit themselves to only cooperating with folks from the same denomination, Haraway says. Otherwise, they might miss out on the insights that come from people who have a different point of view.

Working across traditions can be complicated, Haraway writes, especially if groups have different views on core doctrines. Still, as the leader of one non-denominational church put it, there’s a benefit in breaking free of groupthink.

“Sometimes I just want to talk with my mom’s Methodist pastor and see what they’re talking about, because I think they’re probably having a different conversation,” Haraway recalls him saying. “That would be helpful for me.”

The 438 congregations in the study include houses of worship from eight counties, all in the middle part of Alabama. Most are Christian, given Alabama’s place in the Bible belt, but the study did include mosques and synagogues. The congregations ranged from churches with a handful of members to megachurches.

Despite their differences, the congregations in the study often had a great deal in common. One chapter of the book compares the Churches of Christ, a group that uses no instruments in worship, with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The two groups are different from the outside: the Churches of Christ are fiercely independent and skeptical of any hierarchical structures, while the Latter-day Saints have a highly organized and interdependent structure with clear leaders at the top. Both have their own distinct theology.

Yet, both are so-called restorationist movements—founded by people trying to capture something essential about Christianity they believed was lost. Both have a clear sense of their mission and an identity tied to that mission.

“That makes them very tight-knit,” Haraway said.

‘It takes time to develop trust’

One of the last chapters of the book deals with groups that cooperate across racial lines. Almost half the groups Haraway studied had no ties to congregations that had a different racial makeup.

That did not surprise her, given the country’s continuing racial divides and the way churches often closely associate with other congregations from their own denominations—and those denominations are divided racially.

Pastors from different predominantly white groups are much more likely to have full-time roles, while many Black and Hispanic pastors are bivocational, having a day job alongside their ministry. That can make difficult even something as simple as setting a time for pastors from different backgrounds to meet.

The book offers no easy solutions but does offer some advice from congregations that have been able to work together in diverse settings.

“To build healthy partnerships across race, know that it takes time to develop trust,” she advises. “Be patient and be willing to do what it takes.”

Haraway said congregations get three different kinds of help from each other: emotional support, informational support and what she called “instrumental” support. Sometimes they need ideas or a partner who can collaborate on projects.

And sometimes a bit of emotional support—especially for pastors—is crucial, she said.

“One of the ministers I talked with said that he was recently talking with another local pastor who said, ‘You know, some days I just want to quit,’” she said. “And that other pastor said: ‘Me too. Let’s go get lunch.’”

NASHVILLE—Ministry leaders and female churchgoers believe ministry to women is working in their congregations, but both feel there’s room for improvement.

Lifeway Research surveyed 1,001 evangelical and Black Protestant female churchgoers in the United States, along with 842 women’s ministry leaders, for the State of Ministry to Women study.

While acknowledging areas that need more investment, both leaders and those involved see value in their church’s ministry to women. Women in the pews, however, experience those benefits firsthand.

Among women who attend church once a month or more, 96 percent say their church values women, including 80 percent who agree strongly.

Fewer, however, believe their church invests in and equips women or say they have a place where they enjoy serving in their congregation. While 90 percent agree their church invests in and equips women, 63 percent strongly agree. Additionally, 84 percent of women churchgoers have somewhere they enjoy serving in their church, with 59 percent who strongly agree.

“While women are positive about their churches, 1 in 5 indicate there is room for improvement in how well their church values them,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.

“Even more women indicate their church could improve in proactively investing in women, with 37 percent withholding the highest rating for how well their church equips women.”

Still, most of the women are involved in their congregation beyond merely attending worship services. Two in 3 (66 percent) are involved in some type of small group or class for adults at least once during a typical month, including 28 percent who say they attend four times or more.

For around 2 in 3 churchgoing women (63 percent), their congregation has an organized women’s ministry. And another 21 percent say their church has activities specifically for women but nothing formal. Few say their church doesn’t have any activities for women (8 percent) or that they aren’t aware of any (7 percent).

Among those with some type of women’s activities at their church, female churchgoers point to the value that comes from having a women’s ministry. Benefits include stronger relationships among women in the church (68 percent), opportunities for women to be refreshed and restored spiritually and emotionally (65 percent), a place to ask questions and openly discuss faith topics (58 percent), stronger cross-generational relationships (56 percent) and a safe place for women to be transparent about needs and hurts (56 percent).

Other women’s ministry benefits according to women at churches with activities for them are support for what the church as a whole is encouraging (44 percent), receiving more biblical teaching than they would without it (35 percent), more serving in the community (30 percent), more relevant biblical application for women (30 percent), more serving in the church (28 percent) and more ministry done among women (27 percent). Less than 1 percent say none of these are added benefits for their church from their women’s ministry.

When asked what help they’ve received personally from their church’s women’s ministry, close to half say they have developed significant relationships with other women in the church (55 percent) and significant relationships with women in different age groups from their own (50 percent).

 Slightly fewer say it has made them more interested in attending activities that help them spiritually (45 percent), they’ve had more intentionality to their walk with Christ (38 percent), found a place to use their gifting to serve others in their church (36 percent) or have been mentored by a more mature believer (33 percent).

Around 3 in 10 say the women’s ministry has given them tangible ways to serve the local community (32 percent), more confidence to present the gospel (30 percent) and more motivation to invite people to church (28 percent).

“Women report that women’s ministry has specifically helped them build meaningful relationships, provided true encouragement and allowed them to explore elements of their faith that were particularly relevant to them,” McConnell said.

“Without the church offering these activities specifically for women, most say they wouldn’t have developed significant relationships and gotten to know women in other age groups. And many others report that their engagement in church activities, serving, sharing their faith and being intentional about their walk with Christ hinged on things their church’s women’s ministry provided.”

Community-building and discipleship activities

Close to 9 in 10 women say their church offered some type of activity specifically to develop community among new and existing women in their church, with the most popular events being some type of gathering around food like a potluck or lunch (63 percent) and holiday events (58 percent).

More than 3 in 4 women whose church provided these types of community activities (77 percent) say they participated in at least one last year, including 19 percent who say they attended more than five such events.

Almost 9 in 10 women say their church conducted some events in the past year to disciple women and encourage their walk with Christ. Churchgoers were most likely to say their church offered Bible studies for women (57 percent), times for women to pray together (46 percent) and opportunities to serve in the community (42 percent).

Almost 3 in 4 (73 percent) say they participated in at least one of these within the last year, including 15 percent who attended five or more of those events.

Churches seem to want to provide Bible studies that fit the schedules of women in different life circumstances. Among those who said their church offered Bible studies, 67 percent say they offered them outside of work hours, 58 percent say some were during the day on weekdays and 38 percent say the church did Bible studies specifically for moms with young children.

When asked for the reasons they chose not to participate in a women’s ministry event or gathering in the past year, female churchgoers pointed to several hindrances. A third (33 percent) said family obligations kept them away. Around 1 in 5 said they needed to work (23 percent), were out of town or sick (23 percent), had other activities planned (22 percent), some logistical reasons like the timing or cost (21 percent) or they had other priorities (19 percent).

Fewer said it was about the event itself—the topic was not for their life stage (9 percent), they had a lack of interest in the topic (7 percent), certain women were or were not going to be there (4 percent) or the plan for the event (4 percent). Around 1 in 8 (12 percent) don’t think they missed any women’s events in the past year.

Meeting spiritual and personal needs

Female churchgoers see ministry to women as a way to meet a host of spiritual and personal needs, and most say the church has been meeting those needs.

The top need women say they’ve been hoping women’s ministry activities in their church would help them with personally is growing closer to Jesus (71 percent). Most also want support when difficult things happen (60 percent), the ability to make friends (57 percent) and help when they feel discouraged (53 percent). A sizeable percentage also say they want their church’s women’s ministry to help them feel included (48 percent), heal from hurt (42 percent), deal with struggles in their faith (39 percent) and feel needed (31 percent).

Among the women who identified each of those areas, at least 7 in 10 say their church has offered activities that have helped them with that need, including 79 percent who said their church offered an activity that helped them grow closer to Jesus.

“A large majority of women are getting help from their church in the areas where they need it,” McConnell said. “But between 21 percent and 28 percent of women indicate specific needs that have not been addressed. This is more likely to occur in churches that do not have an organized ministry to women or activities specifically for women.”

Motivation for ministry

Those leading ministry to women in their churches are leading out of obedience to God rather than for personal gain, the survey indicated. More than 3 in 4 women (77 percent) say they are leading because they feel called. Another 55 percent say they chose to lead because there was a need, and 51 percent say they lead because it’s their gifting. The majority say each month they sense God confirming their call to lead (95 percent).

As they serve, most women’s ministry leaders say they feel God is guiding them in their leadership (94 percent). And they lead sacrificially, with more than 4 in 5 (83 percent) serving as volunteers or unpaid staff members. Far fewer leaders are paid part-time staff members (9 percent) or paid full-time staff members (8 percent).

Most women’s ministry leaders say discipling women and encouraging their walks with Christ is the top priority for their ministries (57 percent).

Events play an important role in reaching this goal. More than 4 in 5 (88 percent) women’s ministries offer Bible studies for women to disciple them and encourage their walks with Christ. Most also offer time for women to pray together (57 percent). Others provide opportunities to serve in the community (48 percent) or attend conferences as a group (40 percent).

By far, women’s ministry leaders say offering Bible studies for women is one of the most effective events for encouraging women on their faith journey with Christ (80 percent). Leaders also say offering times for prayer (23 percent), attending conferences (16 percent) and providing opportunities to serve the community (13 percent) are some of the most effective events for encouraging women in their faith.

As women’s ministry leaders invest in the women in their congregations, they see the impact of their ministries goes far beyond themselves. Most say their ministry does well or very well at encouraging the spiritual growth of women (89 percent), encouraging women to obey God (82 percent) and engaging existing women in their church to serve others (61 percent).

Close to half say their ministry works well or very well at mobilizing women to turn from sins (52 percent), connecting existing women in their church into their community (50 percent) and mobilizing women to invite people to church (49 percent).

As women’s ministry leaders reflect on the role their ministry plays in the local church, most say their church values their women’s ministry (93 percent).

Most (94 percent) also say their ministry regularly receives support from their pastor, with more than 3 in 4 (76 percent) strongly agreeing. And 71 percent say their church provides the women’s ministry with funds from the church budget. But few (5 percent) conduct women’s ministry planning together with the church staff.

“Very few women’s ministry leaders doubt they have support from their pastor or that their ministry is valued by their church. But some indicate there is room for improvement,” McConnell said.

“Moving in a unified direction with the church’s goals requires communication. With so few women’s ministry leaders on staff and few of them planning alongside staff members, there are no doubt missed opportunities for maximizing the value of women’s ministry within the church.”

Challenges identified

Women’s ministries in churches face many challenges. But leaders say the biggest challenges their ministries face are women not attending or participating (48 percent) and connecting with women in different age groups (45 percent).

Women’s ministry leaders also see a variety of areas they feel they need to develop as leaders, with their top leadership needs having to do with recruiting leaders (43 percent), vision and direction (40 percent) and teaching and training (33 percent).

And women’s ministry leaders are not alone in these challenges. According to the Greatest Needs of Pastors study from Lifeway Research, Protestant pastors say developing leaders and volunteers (77 percent), training current leaders and volunteers (68 percent) and establishing a compelling vision (45 percent) are some ministry difficulties they face that are top priorities for them.

 “Churches with no organized ministry to women have a significant opportunity to make a change and help women spiritually. Finding a leader to begin offering relational, Bible-focused, relevant activities is critical for these churches,” McConnell said.

“For churches who already have a women’s ministry, the greatest opportunity comes from women attending the first time, because participating in women’s ministry causes many women to be more interested in activities that help them spiritually.”

Lifeway Research conducted the online survey of American evangelical and Black Protestant female churchgoers March 13-17, 2023, using a national pre-recruited panel. Analysts used quotas and slight weights to balance age, region, ethnicity, education, religious service attendance and religious tradition to reflect the population more accurately.

The completed sample is 1,001 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence the sampling error from the panel does not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percent. This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

PHILADELPHIA (BP)—Bible users who worship God online are most likely to read the Bible at least weekly apart from church service, the American Bible Society said in the latest installment of its 2023 State of the Bible report.

Among online worshippers, 74 percent read the Bible at least weekly, whether they worship solely online or online and in person. Of in-person-only worshippers, 32 percent read the Bible at least weekly, the American Bible Society stated.

“This might seem surprising to those who see online church as a lesser experience, used by people who are less committed spiritually,” the society said in the report’s seventh chapter, focused on Bible use and technology. “We suspect that these numbers speak to the personal nature of online attendance.”

Online attendance, often done alone or with immediate family, “can be more about hearing about God and from God,” the Bible society speculated. “It’s personal, as Bible reading often is.”

The findings are among the results of an 18-minute survey conducted in January among a representative sample of adults 18 and older within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Percentages are based on 2,761 responses.

The release delved into how many people read the Bible at least weekly outside of normal church services and certain descriptive characteristics concerning them.

Among the top findings:

• 25 percent of American adults use the Bible at least weekly, amounting to about 65 million people.
• More than half of evangelicals, 53 percent, report reading the Bible weekly, compared to 21 percent of Catholics who do so.
• Black Americans far surpass others in reading the Bible at least weekly, with 38 percent reporting so, compared to 23 percent among all other ethnic groups combined. Nearly one in five Blacks (19 percent) read the Bible daily, outpacing all other groups combined, which numbered 8 percent.

Curiosity about Scripture doesn’t necessarily drive Scripture reading, the Bible society found. About 39 million U.S. adults say they are extremely curious about Scripture, but they don’t read it at least weekly. More than half of Americans—52 percent—wish they read Scripture more, but only 14 percent increased their Bible reading in the past year.

Among the top impediments to reading Scripture more frequently were a lack of time (26 percent), a lack of excitement (15 percent), not knowing where to start (17 percent), and difficulty in relating to the language (15 percent).

Among other findings:

• The popularity of digital Scripture sources is about the same as in 2022. Just under 70 percent of Bible users read a printed Bible at least monthly, 50 percent read a digital Bible app at least monthly, and 48 percent read Scripture through internet searches at the same frequency.
• Elders continue to favor printed Bibles at 87 percent, while 46 percent of Boomers are most likely to watch a Bible program on video.
• Bible apps and podcasts are most popular among Millennials, 42 percent, and Gen X, 39 percent; with digital Bibles and online Bible reading plans also most popular among those generations.
• Gen Z is most likely to access Scripture through internet searches.

The State of the Bible annually looks at the Bible, faith and the church in America. The American Bible Society collaborated with the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center in designing the study conducted online and via telephone to NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel.

Previous chapters of the 2023 study revealed various aspects of how Scripture engagement impacts daily life. Future chapters will offer new insights on how the Bible affects philanthropic habits and summarize highlights from 2023 research.