A new survey has found that most Americans reject the idea that the church has become irrelevant.
The Barna Group released a State of the Church report in conjunction with Gloo on March 13, based on interviews with 1,532 adults in the U.S. from February 4-26.
Most adults do not agree with the statement “Church is not relevant in today’s world,” with 41% definitely disagreeing and 24% somewhat disagreeing. The rest either somewhat (22%) or definitely (13%) agreed with the statement.
Among practicing Christians, an overwhelming 79% definitely disagree that the church has become irrelevant, followed by 9% who somewhat disagree, 9% who definitely agree, and 4% who somewhat agree. In contrast, 39% of non-practicing Christians definitely disagree with the irrelevance of the church, while 28% somewhat disagree, 23% somewhat agree, and 9% definitely agree.
Non-Christians were more inclined to find the church irrelevant, with 32% somewhat agreeing and 26% definitely agreeing with the statement. Furthermore, 22% definitely agree that God has become irrelevant, whereas 20% definitely disagree with that sentiment.
The survey revealed that 57% of respondents said they talked to clergy before, during, or after services. Among different age groups, this number rose to 61% for millennials, dropped to 57% for Gen Xers, was 55% for baby boomers, and reached 50% for Gen Zers.
Overall, 53% of churchgoers interact with other attendees at church, with 73% of boomers engaging in conversations compared to 32% of Gen Z. Among millennials, 49% usually talk to others at church, alongside 56% of Gen X churchgoers.
The report also included preliminary estimates about church attendance in the U.S. and compared them with additional data collected from 126,450 adults between 2000 and 2024.
Although weekly church attendance has experienced a gradual decline over two decades, with a peak at 48% in 2009 and a decline to 27% by 2017, recent data showed an increase to 28% by 2024. Preliminary data from 2025 suggests a possible uptick in weekly attendance to around 32%.
Notably, since 2022, men have consistently shown higher weekly attendance rates than women. Estimates from 2025 show the gender gap continuing to widen, with 40% of men attending church weekly, compared to just 28% of women.
