Easter Holiday Still Motivates High Church Attendance in America
Many pastors would say that Easter is one of their most heavily attended church services. A couple of other church services that draw the crowds include Mother’s Day and Christmas. In fact, a Lifeway Research poll found that, in general, 90 percent of pastors would rank Easter as one of the top three for attendance. Right behind that was Christmas at 81 percent, and 51 percent of pastors said Mother’s Day was the third most attended church holiday.
“While many churches consider high attendance as something from their pre-pandemic past, seasonal changes have resumed,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said. “Church attendance is predictable again with periods of consistency in the fall and early spring, as well as holiday crowds at Christmas and Easter.”
Why People Attend Church on Easter Sunday
There are a myriad of reasons why people tend to turn out for an Easter service. These reasons include tradition, family expectations, recognizing it as a historical event, or a desire to acknowledge and celebrate the meaning behind Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
A YouGov.US poll found that 95 percent of Americans have heard of Easter, and 66 percent like the holiday. In addition, 66 percent of American adults (two-thirds) believe the Biblical account of Jesus’ bodily resurrection as completely accurate. However, there seems to be a disconnect regarding why it was a significant event according to another Lifeway Research poll.
It seems worth noting that the largest demographic that struggles with this are people who range in age from 18–34, but a total of 58 percent still fully believe the Biblical account.
“Traditionally, one big focus of apologetics has been arguments for the bodily resurrection of Jesus,” author and apologist Rebecca McLaughlin told Lifeway.
“But the 66% of Americans who say they believe this don’t need those arguments. Instead, they need to understand what difference it makes that Jesus rose from the dead. We need to show them that it makes all the difference in the world. And that if Jesus is risen, He is also Lord.”
Christianity is the only religion that can claim that its founder died and was physically, miraculously, and supernaturally raised from the dead. In addition, it’s the only one that teaches that salvation is by grace and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). No other religion can claim this. Journalist and former editor of the Chicago Tribune and former skeptic Lee Strobel has an excellent book called The Case for Easter that addresses this topic.
While some might say that physical church attendance is on the decline, the number of people who are watching online or watch church on television is slowly on the rise. A Pew Research poll found that one-third of American adults attend church in person at least once per month, and that 25 percent go at least once per week. A separate question found that 23 percent of Americans go online or watch church on television these days.
Overall Church Attendance on Decline
All that being said, consistent, in-person church attendance is still on the decline overall. Gallup is in agreement with Pew Research, citing that one-third of Americans are attending church at least monthly in person. It also notes that this number is down from 42 percent 20 years ago.
A Barna poll found that overall, adults are keenly aware that they have spiritual needs. Unfortunately, they’re also becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the church and going elsewhere because those needs aren’t being met by the church. In addition, their needs for a deep and meaningful community in the church aren’t being met either.
A few other reasons listed that Preaching Today found through an online forum include reasons such as people being judgmental, being hurt, too many false teachings, a focus on religion over a relationship with God, too focused on money, and a few other reasons.
Knowing this information gives church leaders and congregations an opportunity to prayerfully ask the Lord to lead them in necessary changes. Once those are implemented, the church will become more relevant and meaningful to attendees and in its function.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ehrlif
Originally published April 16, 2025.
