FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
An altar girl and boy walk into St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Majority of Americans don’t belong to a place of worship in historic decline, poll finds
For the first time in eight decades, fewer than 50% of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque amid an ongoing steep decline in religious attendance, according to a new biannual Gallup poll.
Gallup first began polling Americans on church membership in 1937. In the six decades that followed, between 68% and 76% of Americans said they belonged to a place of worship. Then, at the turn of the century, a persistent decline in religious membership began – and has continued for 20 years.