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1970-1988: (IF ANY RELIGIOUS PREFERENCE) Would you say you/do you go to (church/synagogue) every week, almost every week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, or never? 1990 AND LATER: Lots of things come up that keep people from attending religious services even if they want to. Thinking about your life these days, do you ever attend religious services, apart from occasional weddings, baptisms or funerals? (IF YES:) Do you go to religious services every week, almost every week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, or never?
Frequency of religious service attendance, 1970 onward · Asked in 22 waves, 1970–2020 · 54,235 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Not loaded for 2024: the Feb. 5, 2026 release codes about half of 2024 respondents 9 (NA), the share who said they never attend (53% in 2020), and only 71 people 5 (never), so the remaining answers overstate attendance (30% 'every week' vs. 15% in 2020). Judged a coding error; ANES has published no erratum. Dropped as not asked: 0 'Religion (1970-1988); atheists and agnostics are Inap (1972,1986 only); short-form ‘new’ Cross Section (1992-1996)'. Kept and flagged: 8 (dk), 9 (other_missing). Codebook notes: GENERAL NOTE: Beginning in 1990, question flow was reversed so that the religious attendance question preceded religious affiliation questions, whereas in previous studies religious attendance followed. Beginning in 1990, frequency of religious attendance was preceded by a general attendance filter (yes/no); a ‘no’ response to the filter 1990 and later has been coded 5 here. 1970 NOTE: Only codes corresponding to VCF0130 codes 2-5 were used (no code for ‘every week’). ‘Almost every week’ from 1970 has been recoded to 1, with no 1970 cases appearing in code 2. 1992 NOTE: This question was not part of the ‘short-form’ questionnaire; for short- form panel cases, however, 1990 study data were incorporated. 1994 NOTE: For Panel respondents,1992 data have been included.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 2020 Time Series Study Source variable: V201452, V201453. | 2020-08-18 to 2021-01-04 | mixed | 8,280 | 8,280 |
| ANES 2016 Time Series Study Source variable: V161244,V161245. | 2016-09-07 to 2017-01-09 | mixed | 4,270 | 4,270 |
| ANES 2012 Time Series Study Source variable: relig_church,relig_churchoft. | 2012-09-09 to 2013-01-13 | mixed | 5,914 | 5,914 |
| ANES 2008 Time Series Study Source variable: V083186,V083186a. | 2008-09-02 to 2008-12-30 | face to face | 2,322 | 2,322 |
| ANES 2004 Time Series Study Source variable: V043223,V043224. | 2004-09-07 to 2004-12-19 | face to face | 1,212 | 1,212 |
| ANES 2002 Time Series Study Source variable: V023085. | 2002-09-18 to 2002-12-06 | phone | 1,511 | 1,511 |
| ANES 2000 Time Series Study Source variable: V000877,V000879. | 2000-09-05 to 2000-12-22 | mixed | 1,807 | 1,807 |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Every week (Except 1970: almost every week) | Almost every week (no cases in 1970) | Once or twice a month | A few times a year | Never (1990 and later: ‘No’ in filter) | No religious preference (1970-1988) | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 15% | 11% | 8% | 13% | 53% | – | 8280 | ±1 | |
| Liberals | 7% | 6% | 6% | 11% | 69% | – | 2497 | ±3 | |
| Moderates | 13% | 9% | 9% | 17% | 52% | – | 1818 | ±3 | |
| Conservatives | 23% | 17% | 10% | 14% | 37% | – | 2741 | ±2 |
ANES 2020 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ (face-to-face samples: contiguous 48 states and DC; web samples: 50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| ANES 1998 Time Series Study Source variable: V980543. | 1998-11-04 to 1998-12-23 | mixed | 1,281 | 1,281 |
| ANES 1996 Time Series Study Source variable: V960578. | 1996-09-03 to 1997-01-02 | mixed | 1,714 | 1,708 |
| ANES 1994 Time Series Study Source variable: V941103. | 1994-11-09 to 1995-01-08 | mixed | 1,795 | 1,775 |
| ANES 1992 Time Series Study Source variable: V923828. | 1992-09-02 to 1993-01-16 | mixed | 2,485 | 2,481 |
| ANES 1990 Time Series Study Source variable: V900526. | 1990-11-06 to 1991-01-21 | face to face | 1,980 | 1,980 |
| ANES 1988 Time Series Study Source variable: V880530. | 1988-09-06 to 1989-01-23 | face to face | 2,040 | 2,026 |
| ANES 1986 Time Series Study Source variable: V860738. | 1986-11-05 to 1987-02-07 | face to face | 2,176 | 2,153 |
| ANES 1984 Time Series Study Source variable: V840688. | 1984-09-04 to 1985-01-24 | mixed | 2,257 | 2,237 |
| ANES 1982 Time Series Study Source variable: V820735. | 1982-11-02 to 1983-01-31 | face to face | 1,418 | 1,413 |
| ANES 1980 Time Series Study Source variable: V800694. | 1980-09-02 to 1981-02-07 | face to face | 1,614 | 1,598 |
| ANES 1978 Time Series Study Source variable: V780606. | 1978-11-08 to 1979-01-25 | face to face | 2,304 | 2,283 |
| ANES 1976 Time Series Study Source variable: V763511. | 1976-09-07 to 1977-01-30 | face to face | 2,248 | 2,236 |
| ANES 1974 Time Series Study Source variable: V742552. | 1974-11-06 to 1975-01-31 | face to face | 1,575 | 1,563 |
| ANES 1972 Time Series Study Source variable: V720423. | 1972-09-01 to 1973-02-13 | face to face | 2,705 | 2,695 |
| ANES 1970 Time Series Study Source variable: V700362(type 0). | 1970-11-04 to 1971-01-13 | face to face | 1,507 | 1,490 |