American Bible Society today released the fifth chapter of their 14th annual State of the Bible report, which focuses on data that determines positive factors that increase Americans’ participation in a local faith community and negative factors that decrease participation. The fifth chapter of State of the Bible 2024 is now available to download at sotb.research.bible.

“Any company with a product or service to sell does customer research—asking buyers what they like or don’t like, or how many stars they would award for an experience. The church is driven by far more than commerce, but congregations will still benefit from our nationwide research about what people like and dislike about their churches,” said John Farquhar Plake, PhD, American Bible Society’s Chief Innovation Officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series. “The top answers, for both positive and negative responses, are about belonging. When churchgoers feel that they belong, they participate more. And when they feel excluded by cliques, they drift away. So, what can your church do about that? This new chapter offers a few ideas.”

The State of the Bible findings come from a nationally representative survey performed for American Bible Society by NORC at the University of Chicago, using their AmeriSpeak panel. The data came from 2,506 online interviews with American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key findings analyzed in Chapter 5: How Do You Feel About Church?

• Over half of all participants in a faith community indicate three positive experiences that increase their participation in that space: a feeling of community and belonging (55%), shared spiritual beliefs and faith (53%) and meaning and purpose (51%). Close behind, 48% of people cite worship and ceremonies as a positive experience (page 86).
• 20% of all respondents indicated that exclusion or cliques within the faith community deterred them from participation. Though it may appear to be an insignificant percentage, this represents around 50 million Americans dissuaded from church participation (pages 96–97).
• One sixth of Scripture Engaged individuals report a decrease in involvement due to unresolved conflict within the church, while those in the Movable Middle are more likely to say they haven’t received adequate spiritual care, thus affecting their relationship with the faith community (pages 101-103).
• Those who volunteer in their faith community are more likely than other churchgoers to credit their involvement to a sense of community and belonging (68% to 55%), indicating a sense of deep care for the community they both maintain and participate in (pages 104-105).

Between September and December 2024, American Bible Society will release four new chapters in the State of the Bible story, including research on societal and cultural influences, coping with loneliness, and philanthropy.

To download the fifth chapter of State of the Bible 2024, visit sotb.research.bible.

*For descriptions on how Scripture engagement was measured and reported, please see page 107 of the eBook available for download at sotb.research.bible.