New Study Challenges Church Decline Narrative, Suggests Possible Growth in 2025
A new study is pushing back against the common belief that the church in the U.S. is in decline, suggesting it may actually be growing again while making clear it remains relevant even among non-Christians. The Barna State of the Church report, created in partnership with Gloo, reveals that weekly church attendance had largely plateaued in the U.S. since 2017 and stood at 28 percent of U.S. adults in 2024 — yet preliminary data from early 2025 “suggests a potential uptick in weekly church attendance” to approximately 32 percent.
In another positive sign for people of faith, 65 percent of American adults say they disagree with the statement that the “church is no longer relevant in today’s world.” While 88 percent of practicing Christians disagree with the statement, so do 46 percent of non-Christians.
Even 67 percent of non-practicing Christians -- those who identify as Christian but who rarely attend church and say faith is not important in their lives -- disagree with the statement.
“This data challenges the narrative that society has rejected church or views it as irrelevant,” the report said. “Instead, church leaders can approach community engagement with confidence that the role of the Church still holds cultural significance.”
Church volunteering is also on the rebound, according to the report. Weekly church volunteering declined from 23 percent in 2022 to 15 percent in 2024. Yet preliminary 2025 data indicates an increase to approximately 24 percent. Perhaps surprisingly, younger generations -- Gen Z and Millennials -- are at the forefront of this rebound, the report said.
Meanwhile, other trends may be changing, too.
From 2000 to 2015, women attended church more frequently than men, but between 2016 and 2021, attendance rates between the two sexes were nearly identical. Since 2022, though, men have consistently attended church weekly at higher rates than women, overturning a long-established pattern. Preliminary 2025 data shows 28 percent of women attending weekly compared to 40 percent of men.
Church attendance remains strong across generations, with younger groups showing encouraging levels of participation. As of 2024, Gen Z (29 percent) and Millennials (30 percent) attended weekly at rates comparable to Elders (33 percent), while Gen X (25 percent) and Boomers (24 percent) followed closely behind.
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published March 20, 2025.
