Church attendance

Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed Churches and teaches first-day Sabbatarianism, thus proclaiming the duty of public worship in keeping with the Ten Commandments. Similarly, The General Rules of the Methodist Church also requires 'attending upon all the ordinances of God' including 'the public worship of God'. Until 1791, the government of the United Kingdom required attendance at church services of the Church of England (the mother Church of the Anglican Communion and a state Church) at least twice a year. To this end, all major branches of Christianity, however, encourage church attendance, with one Christian apostolate providing the following biblical imperatives: The Bible tells us we need to attend church so we can worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25). Church is the place where believers can love one another (1 John 4:12), encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), 'spur' one another (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32). Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed Churches and teaches first-day Sabbatarianism, thus proclaiming the duty of public worship in keeping with the Ten Commandments. Similarly, The General Rules of the Methodist Church also requires 'attending upon all the ordinances of God' including 'the public worship of God'. Until 1791, the government of the United Kingdom required attendance at church services of the Church of England (the mother Church of the Anglican Communion and a state Church) at least twice a year. To this end, all major branches of Christianity, however, encourage church attendance, with one Christian apostolate providing the following biblical imperatives: The Lutheran Christian theologian Balthasar Münter stated that church attendance is the 'foundation for the Christian life' as 'the Christian Bible and the sacraments provide the framework for the faith'; he also states that it is important for believers because it aids in the prevention of backsliding, as well as offers 'the company of other believers'. According to data from the European Social Survey in 2012 around a third of European Christians say they attend services once a month or more. Conversely about two-thirds of Latin American Christians and according to the World Values Survey about 90% of African Christians (in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe) said they attended church regularly. The Gallup International, a self-reporting survey conducted via telephone, indicates that 37% of Americans report that they attend religious services weekly or near-weekly in 2013. The Pew Research Center stated, however, that there is a 'sharp increase in church attendance around the two most significant Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter.' As such, on Christmas (a Principal Feast in the Anglican Communion, a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church and a Festival in the Lutheran Churches), LifeWay Research found that 'six out of 10 Americans typically attend church'. Countries that hold or have held a policy of state atheism have actively discouraged church attendance, often persecuting Christians who continued to worship. The Gallup International, a self-reporting survey conducted via telephone, indicates that 37% of Americans report that they attend religious services weekly or near-weekly in 2013. Self-reporting surveys conducted online indicate substantially lower weekly attendance rates, and methods of measurement that don't rely on self-reporting estimate even lower rates; for instance, a 2005 study published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion found that just 22% of Americans attend services weekly.). This compares to other countries claims such as 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens, 8.8% of Australian citizens and 5.6% of Dutch citizens. In the U.K., in 2011, an average once-a-week attendance in Anglican churches went down by 0.3% compared with 2012, thus exhibiting a stabilizing trend. Previously, starting from 2000, an average rate of weekly church attendance in Britain was dropping down 1% annually. In 2013, the Pew Research Center reported that 37% of all Americans attended church on a weekly basis. In its turn, Gallup estimated the once-a-week church attendance of the Americans in 2013 as 39%. Based on 1990-1991 data, it was estimated that the country with the highest rate of church attendance in the world was Nigeria (89%) and with the lowest - the Soviet Union (2%). Nigeria's data was notable, as Nigeria is very religiously diverse - the population is 50.1% Muslim and 48.2% Christian. The state authorities in the USSR, which dissolved in 1991, discouraged church construction; they had a hostile relationship with traditional organized religions and instead promoted Marxist-Leninist ideology, which espoused state atheism. Approximations of the current church attendance in the modern Russian Federation vary from 3-4% to 7% attending on weekly basis. A survey commissioned by the Época Magazine in 2005 showed that 29% of Brazilians attend church weekly, and indicated that it is lesser than in the United States but higher than in Western Europe and Japan, indeed showing that contrary to the local popular belief, Brazilians of the time could indeed be regarded as a religious people even in practice (though it is ponderable that the growth of the population declaring to be solely irreligious in nationwide censuses grew about 100% between 2000 and 2010, and 200% between 2000 and 2013, from 4% to 12%, and general secularization also grew among the portion of the population that remained religious). In a 2006, Financial Times (FT)/Harris Poll conducted online surveyed 12,507 adults over 16 years old in the United States (2,010 U.S. adults were surveyed) and five European countries (France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Spain). The survey found that only 26% of those polled attended religious services 'every week or more often', 9% went 'once or twice a month', 21% went 'a few times a year', 3% went 'once a year', 22% went 'less than once a year', and 18% never attend religious services. Harris Interactive stated that the magnitude of errors cannot be estimated due to sampling errors and non-response bias. A previous nearly identical survey by Harris in 2003 found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services 'every week or more often', 11% went 'once or twice a month' 19% went 'a few times a year', 4% went 'once a year', 16% went 'less than once a year', and 25% never attend religious services. Calculating the church's average weekend attendance is important since it determines the size of a given church. For example, in the U.S., an average weekend attendance of more than 2,000 people separates a mega church from a large church, and an average weekend attendance between 51 and 300 people defines the large church; while a small church is the church with an attendance lower than 50 people. (Alternative definitions, such as house church, simple church, intentional community, were proposed by the Barna Group, an American private consulting firm.) A narrow definition of a regular church attendee can be viewed as a synonym for a Sunday service visitation, while a broad definition, names as a regular attendee a person who comes to church during three out of eight weekends.