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Religious Attendance

Although the type and frequency of worship services differ from one religious tradition to the next, services are an important component of many religious traditions, making worship attendance a useful indicator of religious commitment.

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GRAPHIC April 11, 2013
American Hindus To Celebrate a New Year
While the date of the Hindu New Year varies by region and custom, many Hindus celebrate in mid-April at home and in temples. According to a 2012 survey of Asian Americans, 85% of Asian American Hindus attend worship services at a temple at least a few times a year, and 78% have a religious shrine in their home.
ANALYSIS March 5, 2013
During Benedict’s Papacy, Religious Observance Among Catholics in Europe Remained Low but Stable
When Benedict XVI was elected pope in 2005, religious observance among Europeans had been in decline for decades, and he set out to stem the tide of secularization. How successful was he? Pew Research polls indicate that during his papacy, religious observance among Catholics in France, Germany, Spain and Italy remained low but fairly stable.
POLL July 19, 2012
Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths
When it comes to religion, the Asian-American community is a study in contrasts, encompassing groups that run the gamut from highly religious to highly secular. A new survey report examines the Asian-American population from the angle of religious affiliation, highlighting the beliefs, practices and views of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, the religiously unaffiliated and other faiths. 
POLL November 11, 2010
Post-Election Analysis: Politics in the Pulpit
A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that compared with 2006, fewer voters encountered information on parties or candidates in their house of worship, and only 6% say they were contacted by religious groups about the election campaign.
October 21, 2010
Pre-Election Analysis: Politics in the Pulpit
A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that among voters who attend religious services at least once or twice a month, 15% say information on the political parties or candidates has been made available at their place of worship.  
POLL February 17, 2010
Religion Among the Millennials
By some key measures, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans. Yet in other ways, Millennials remain fairly traditional in their religious beliefs and practices.
GRAPHIC December 21, 2009
How Religious Is Your State?
Which of the 50 states has the most religious population? Since there are many ways to define "religious," there is no single answer to this question. But to give a sense of how the states stack up, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life used polling data to rank them on four measures. 
POLL October 28, 2009
The "Zeal of the Convert": Is It the Real Deal?
A recent Pew Forum analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith.
POLL July 24, 2009
A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.
This report, based on data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, explores Mormons' unique place in the American religious landscape and is divided into three parts: demographic characteristics, religious beliefs and practices, and social and political views.
POLL April 30, 2009
Obama, Catholics and the Notre Dame Commencement
Most Catholics who have heard about the issue support Notre Dame's decision to invite President Obama to speak at its May 17 commencement even though he supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. But a poll finds a deep division on this issue between the most-observant Catholics and those who are less observant.
POLL March 12, 2009
Is a Bad Economy Good for Church Attendance?
Contrary to recent media reports suggesting that the country's economic troubles have led to higher levels of church attendance, there has been no increase in weekly worship service attendance.
POLL February 26, 2009
The Stronger Sex -- Spiritually Speaking
An analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures.
POLL January 30, 2009
A Religious Portrait of African-Americans
While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion's importance in life.
GRAPHIC January 30, 2009
African-Americans and Religion
A new analysis by the Pew Forum finds that African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole.
POLL November 5, 2008
How the Faithful Voted
President-elect Barack Obama made a concerted effort to reach out to people of faith during the 2008 presidential campaign, and early exit polls show that this outreach may have paid off on Election Day.
POLL October 23, 2008
How Church Attendance Affects Religious Voting Patterns
The latest report from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that, as in previous elections, differences in voting patterns by religion are amplified when church attendance is taken into account
INTERVIEW July 18, 2006
Timothy Samuel Shah Explains 'Why God is Winning'
Tim Shah explains "Why God is Winning" after religion was supposed to fade away as globalization and freedom spread. Instead, it is booming, and often deciding who gets elected.
EVENT TRANSCRIPT May 23, 2005
Myths of the Modern Megachurch
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in May 2005 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Rick Warren, pastor of the largest church in America,...
POLL January 26, 2005
Religion & Public Life: A Faith-Based Partisan Divide
religion and politics report: religion and presidential elections
POLL March 19, 2003
Survey: Americans Hearing about Iraq From the Pulpit, But Religious Faith Not Defining Opinions
March 19, 2003 Full survey report Most American churchgoers are hearing about the issue of war with Iraq at their places of worship. But most say their ministers are not taking a position for or against the war, and relatively few people say their...