Americans stretch the truth on church attendance
PrepareTheWord scripture commentator Alice Camille says one of the ways we find the post-Ascension Jesus is within the community of faith. Most Christians would agree, but when it comes down to it believers are prone . . .
In "Ten ways Jesus remains with us," Prepare the Word scripture commentator Alice Camille offers the following about the paths where we find the post-Ascension Jesus in our midst: "Jesus said he would be with his church always, to the end of time. So that's one good place to seek and find him: within the community of faith." Most Christians would agree that makes sense, but when it comes down to it believers are prone to exaggerate the frequency of their church attendance, a new survey suggests.
According to the data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), many Christians—and nonbelievers, too—will exaggerate about attending worship in live phone interviews. When asked in an anonymous online questionnaire, however, people will answer more realistically.
On the phone, 36 percent of Americans report attending religious services weekly or more, while 30 percent say they seldom or never go. But online a smaller share (31 percent) of people surveyed said they attended church at least weekly, while a larger portion (43 percent) admitted they seldom or never go.
People who don’t attend worship—but say they did—may not mean to lie, said PRRI CEO Robert Jones. People respond to phone surveys as they think a "good Christian” would or should answer, he said. “There’s an aspirational quality here,” he said. “People see themselves as the kind of person who would go.”
Once you remove the social pressure of speaking on the phone, “you see people willing to give answers that are probably closer to reality,” he said. “People feel less pressure to conform.”
Some other of the findings by group: By phone 29 percent of mainline Protestants say they don’t go to church. Online that jumps to 45 percent; for Catholics on the phone 15 percent say they do not attend, but online 33 percent say so.
People don’t even have to be religious to inflate claims of religiosity, PRRI found. Those one in five Americans who are “nones” also may feel greater pressure to fib because “they are the farthest outside general social expectations,” said Jones. On the phone 73 percent of “nones” say they seldom or never attend, but 91 percent say so when interviewed online.
Homily hint: Yoga classes often begin with a moment when participants are invited to get in touch with the intention or aspiration that brought them therer that day. A similar moment might help those who are confused or ambivalent locate the reason they are present—and thus deepen their experience of the liturgy.
According to the data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), many Christians—and nonbelievers, too—will exaggerate about attending worship in live phone interviews. When asked in an anonymous online questionnaire, however, people will answer more realistically.
On the phone, 36 percent of Americans report attending religious services weekly or more, while 30 percent say they seldom or never go. But online a smaller share (31 percent) of people surveyed said they attended church at least weekly, while a larger portion (43 percent) admitted they seldom or never go.
People who don’t attend worship—but say they did—may not mean to lie, said PRRI CEO Robert Jones. People respond to phone surveys as they think a "good Christian” would or should answer, he said. “There’s an aspirational quality here,” he said. “People see themselves as the kind of person who would go.”
Once you remove the social pressure of speaking on the phone, “you see people willing to give answers that are probably closer to reality,” he said. “People feel less pressure to conform.”
Some other of the findings by group: By phone 29 percent of mainline Protestants say they don’t go to church. Online that jumps to 45 percent; for Catholics on the phone 15 percent say they do not attend, but online 33 percent say so.
People don’t even have to be religious to inflate claims of religiosity, PRRI found. Those one in five Americans who are “nones” also may feel greater pressure to fib because “they are the farthest outside general social expectations,” said Jones. On the phone 73 percent of “nones” say they seldom or never attend, but 91 percent say so when interviewed online.
Homily hint: Yoga classes often begin with a moment when participants are invited to get in touch with the intention or aspiration that brought them therer that day. A similar moment might help those who are confused or ambivalent locate the reason they are present—and thus deepen their experience of the liturgy.
Source: An article by Cathy Lynn Grossman for Religion News Service
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