(97.1 FM TALK) - Fewer Americans are going to church than ever before, according to a new Gallup poll.
Church membership in the U.S. dropped below 50% for the first time since the polling company began asking the question, which is nearly a century ago. Only 47% of those surveyed said they belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque, Gallup reports.
That's down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.
Church membership has been steadily declining for the last 20 years, and is heavily linked to age. About two-thirds of baby boomers belong to a church, but just one-third of millennials. At the same time, the number of Americans with no religious affiliation has risen from 8% up to 21%.
Related
Gallup first started measuring Americans memberships to places of worship in 1937 and church membership was 73%. It hovered around 70% for the next ix decades, then began a steady decline near the turn of the 21st Century.
The report says seven out of 10 people still affiliate themselves with some type of organized religion. Gallup also says thousands of churches may be closing each year in the U.S. due to the decline in attendance.
"Churches are only as strong as their membership and are dependent on their members for financial support and service to keep operating," Gallup states. "Because it is unlikely that people who do not have a religious preference will become church members, the challenge for church leaders is to encourage those who do affiliate with a specific faith to become formal, and active, church members."