Is Church Worship Attendance Really Up After Decades of Decline? A Deeper Dive into the New Numbers

The headline is the kind many church leaders have been waiting to see: Church worship attendance is up for the first time in decades. According to the latest report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, median in-person worship attendance has increased from 65 people to 70 people since just before the pandemic. That is only five people. But statistically, it represents a 7.7% increase. After years of decline, disruption, closures, and post-pandemic uncertainty, a five-person increase in the median congregation is not nothing. It is worth noticing. It is also worth examining carefully. 

My first reaction was simple: Is this true? 

If so, then it is big news. Not revival-level news. Not “everything has changed” news. But still meaningful news. Any time religious research makes headlines, especially when the headline sounds encouraging, church leaders should go to the source. Some reporters understand statistics well. Others struggle with the basics.