The online study from Lifeway Research shows that only 33% of U.S. adults assumed that a church is not for them when the term nondenominational is reflected in the name. The percentages grew, into the 40 percent range, when denominational names were added such as Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Southern Baptist or Presbyterian.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research said, “Church names vary greatly. Names including St. Peter, Trinity, and Crossroads reflect biblical people, theology, modern imagery or references to the branch of Christianity the church is tied to. Most people have preexisting impressions of denominational groups when they see them in a church name or description.”
The findings are a continuation of a cultural shift researchers have previously documented as a growing rejection of organized religion, especially among younger generations.
Robin Veldman, Texas A&M assistant professor of religious studies, explained in a report in The Battalion, “They don’t necessarily like the denominational brand. Then there are people who are so much not into institutions that they’re leaving churches altogether. They may still be religious, but they’re not attending church.”
Matt Morton, a teaching pastor at Grace Bible Church Creekside in College Station, Texas, said many people who attend nondenominational churches often report themselves as being “religiously unaffiliated”, adding, “some of them are saying, ‘I am religious. I do like to go to church, but I don’t fit within any of the boxes.’”