How have demographic shifts like aging and immigration impacted church attendance in 2025?
Executive summary
Available 2025 reporting shows two competing forces shaping church attendance: an apparent rebound among younger adults (Gen Z and Millennials) coupled with continued declines among older cohorts and overall lower in-person numbers since 2019. Barna and allied summaries report younger generations rising from about one weekend a month in 2020 to nearly two in 2025 (Barna), while long-term elders attend far less than they once did (Barna/Christianity Today) and surveys note a substantial drop in weekly in‑person attendance since 2019 (Gallup cited in compilations) [1] [2] [3].
1. Aging populations: older cohorts are attending less than before
Multiple sources show that older generations — once the backbone of weekly worship — are attending far less frequently in 2025 than in earlier decades, which depresses aggregate attendance even as some younger groups return; Barna and Christianity Today report that churchgoers born before 1946 attend many fewer services in 2025 than in 2000, and overall older cohorts have “retired” from regular attendance in recent years [2] [1]. Pew’s Religious Landscape Study also cautions that age‑group comparisons alone don’t prove a permanent decline, because cohorts might change behavior as they age, but it documents that younger adults today are not obviously less religious than slightly older cohorts in identification and some behaviors [4].
2. Youth resurgence: Gen Z and Millennials are increasing attendance in 2025
Barna’s 2025 tracking is the clearest signal of a demographic reversal: younger adults moved from attending just over one weekend per month in 2020 to nearly two in 2025, and Barna’s State of the Church reporting describes Gen Z and Millennial participation as driving a resurgence in attendance [1]. Religion News and related press releases echo this “renewal” thesis for early 2025, noting signs of increased volunteering and engagement especially among Gen Z and Millennials [5] [6].
3. Gender and household roles complicate the picture
New 2025 Barna data report an unexpected gender reversal: men now outpace women in weekly attendance (43% of men vs. 36% of women), with Gen Z and Millennial men particularly prominent [7] [8]. Some analysts frame this as either men “stepping up” or women “stepping back” amid changing family/work rhythms; ChurchLeaders and Religion News present both the numbers and the implication that shifting household responsibilities and social norms could be reshaping who shows up on Sundays [9] [8].
4. Immigration and ethnic composition: available reporting is limited
Available sources in the provided set do not directly analyze how immigration-driven demographic change (e.g., rising Latino, Asian, African immigrant populations) affected 2025 church attendance. Pew’s RLS discusses cohort religiosity differences and marriage patterns tied to religious identification but does not, in these snippets, quantify immigration’s net effect on weekly attendance in 2025 [4]. Therefore, immigration’s role in attendance trends is not found in current reporting provided here.
5. Measurement shifts: attendance vs. engagement and online worship
Several industry and ministry summaries emphasize that churches are changing how they measure “attendance,” tracking digital engagement, volunteers, and small-group participation because in‑person counts understate reach; ChurchTrac and other outlets note many congregations are under 100 in physical attendance and are shifting toward engagement metrics [10] [3]. VancoPayments and other commentaries also flag that Gen Z prefers digital engagement at higher rates, complicating comparisons of pre‑ and post‑pandemic attendance [11].
6. Conflicting national snapshots: decline, stabilization, or renewal?
Different data sets yield different headlines. Gallup and other long‑term tracking show sizable drops in religiosity and in-person attendance since 2019 (summarized as a 28% drop in some compilations), while Barna and Pew suggest stabilization or even an uptick among younger adults and in some engagement measures in early 2025 [3] [1] [4]. Journalistic takeaway: national-level decline remains measurable, but pockets of renewal — demographically concentrated among younger adults and some smaller churches — produce mixed aggregate signals [3] [5].
7. What this means for churches and policymakers
If younger adults are indeed attending more while elders attend less, churches will face reconfigured leadership, programming and volunteer bases; Barna’s analysts argue this creates opportunities for innovation in discipleship and digital outreach [1]. At the same time, declining overall in‑person numbers reported in other sources mean many congregations must rethink sustainability and community services [10] [3].
Limitations and unresolved questions: the supplied sources offer robust reporting on generational and gender shifts (Barna, Religion News, Christianity Today) but do not provide direct, sourced analysis tying immigration patterns to 2025 attendance trends and offer differing national summaries (decline vs. localized renewal), so readers should treat the picture as mixed and evolving rather than settled [2] [4] [3] [1].